The Indian government will allow domestic and international travelers to use face biometrics to self-register for flights into and out of the country. The Mumbai Port Authority is encouraging two government departments to make the biometric registration process for e-visas cruise passengers easier. As the COVID-19 takes a back seat to the economy and travel, protocols are weakening.
India will permit Digi Yatra for air travel self-registration
According to the India Times, passengers will be able to self-register for the Digi Yatra (DY) program with a government ID, which would connect their face biometrics to airports and airlines for a more streamlined experience.
Digi Yatra is a registration system for air travelers that aims to speed up the processing phase and link to an airport's infrastructure by registering government ID and doing face biometrics checks.
The Times mentions a Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) update on the "installation of e-boarding procedure (DY)" that indicates passengers would be able to register their Aadhaar number or driver's license to obtain a Digi Yatra credential that will be connected to a single token face biometric.
Other papers, such as passports and e-passports, will be added in the future, the update states.
The DGCA paper states that the Digi Yatra identities will be encrypted and stored on the user's smartphone wallet, and will only be shared with airlines, airports, and regulatory agencies with the passenger's approval.
It will be shared and stored for 24 hours prior to departure, and then destroyed 24 hours following landing. Six hours before departure, according to reports, airlines communicate passenger information with airports' Digi Yatra systems for ticket and ID verification.
A late-2021 announcement from the Ministry of Aviation outlined the guidelines for collecting and utilizing biometric data under Digi Yatra.
The Times claims that airport registration kiosks will continue for ID checks and biometric registration for those who cannot register at home.
Digi Yatra, whose deployment was delayed by the COVID-19 epidemic, will be accessible to both domestic and international visitors.
Digi Yatra, whose deployment was delayed by the COVID-19 epidemic, will be accessible to both domestic and international visitors.
Digi Yatra, whose deployment was delayed by the COVID-19 epidemic, will be accessible to both domestic and international visitors.
According to the Free Press Journal, the Mumbai Port Authority (MbPA) has asked the Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of External Affairs to eliminate the obstacles to facial biometric identification for the e-visa acquisition phase for cruise passengers.
In an interview with the Journal, MbPA chairman Rajeev Jalota claimed that the authority is in discussions with departments to reduce the time required for biometric registration of cruise passengers coming in India through crowded ports such as Mumbai in order to obtain an e-visa. Jalota indicates that cruise ships transporting 2,000 to 4,000 passengers take up a considerable amount of time.
"If the cruise is departing of a certain location, our personnel would board the ship there so that biometrics can be collected and the procedure may be finished before the ship arrives in Mumbai, saving passengers' time," he suggests as a possible solution.
The Journal says that, beginning in January 2018, the Ministry of Home Affairs exempt cruise visitors from the facial biometrics enrollment phase of e-visa requirements for three years to encourage cruise tourism in the nation by lowering registration time.
Now that COVID-19 lockdown regulations have been reduced, the MbPA hopes to increase cruise travel to pre-pandemic levels.