TBM Staff - Mumbai
Digi Yatra, a facial-recognition technology-based check-in service, is set to expand beyond airports to hotels and public places like historical monuments. Suresh Khadakbhavi, CEO, Digi Yatra, revealed that a prototype for this use-case has been developed and discussions are ongoing with government agencies, including the Ministry of Tourism.
The goal is to create a seamless travel experience across India by implementing Digi Yatra at various locations. Currently, tourists need to produce a passport for hotel check-in and report to police stations for verification. Khadakbhavi explained that Digi Yatra could also be used for rail travel, with initial discussions held with the Ministry of Railways.
Certain nationals are required to register their stay and departure at police stations, while tourists with visas longer than 180 days must register at the Foreign Regional Registration Office (FRRO).
Extending Digi Yatra to hotels and public places aims to prevent data leakage, as people often share unencrypted identity documents. In contrast, Digi Yatra ID does not carry personally identifiable information, and the Digi Yatra Central Ecosystem saves only a hash value or numerical identifier for the file, ensuring that none of the four data items shared by passengers during registration (name, Aadhaar, face scan, and passport number) can be leaked.
Digi Yatra digitally processes air travellers using biometrics, such as facial scans, instead of boarding passes, enabling paperless movement through airport checkpoints. Launched in December 2022, the initiative currently covers 14 airports, with plans to include 15 more by the end of 2024. Initially, Digi Yatra aimed to improve passenger throughput at airports, but the proposed use-case for hotels and public places suggests a broader role for Digi Yatra beyond air travel.
