Quick answer: Digi Yatra is India’s facial-recognition system for paperless passenger checks at airports, coordinated by the Ministry of Civil Aviation and run by the not-for-profit Digi Yatra Foundation. It is in the news because, as the ministry announced on 1 November 2026, trials for international passengers have begun at seven airports and will run until December 2026.
Why Digi Yatra is in the news
Until now Digi Yatra covered only domestic flights. According to the Ministry of Civil Aviation, as reported by News On AIR and Outlook (PTI), the trial is open to Indian nationals holding e-passports on selected international flights of Air India and IndiGo. It runs at Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Cochin, Mumbai, Chennai and Amritsar, at terminal entry, Security Hold Areas and boarding gates where equipment is ready. Feedback will shape a wider rollout in 2027.
Key facts about Digi Yatra
| Point | Detail |
|---|---|
| Coordinating ministry | Ministry of Civil Aviation |
| Operator | Digi Yatra Foundation, a not-for-profit Section 8 company (Companies Act, 2013) |
| Shareholders | Airports Authority of India (26%); Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Cochin airports (14.8% each) |
| Launched | 1 December 2022 at Delhi, Bengaluru and Varanasi |
| Technology | Facial Recognition Technology (FRT) |
| Scale (Nov 2026) | 26.5 million+ users, 110 million+ journeys, 39 domestic airports; 25 more planned by 2027 |
How the international version works
On domestic flights, registered passengers are already verified by face at checkpoints. For the international trial, a passenger first creates an e-passport-based Verifiable Credential (VC) in the app:
- Scan the Machine Readable Zone (MRZ) of the e-passport.
- Let a compatible phone read the passport’s embedded chip through Near Field Communication (NFC).
- Take a selfie and complete verification.
The credential sits in the Digi Yatra wallet on the passenger’s own phone, and gate cameras match the live face against it. The ministry stresses that Digi Yatra adds to, and does not replace, existing checks. Travel documents, airline checks and immigration all still apply.
The privacy question and the DPDP Act
A face image identifies a person directly, so how it is stored and shared is the main governance issue. The government’s position, stated in a February 2024 Rajya Sabha reply, is:
- No central storage of passengers’ personally identifiable information.
- Data stays in the passenger’s mobile wallet, is shared in encrypted form with the departure airport and is purged 24 hours after departure.
- Processes are audited by CERT-In empanelled agencies.
- Use is voluntary, and consent is needed before face biometrics are taken at kiosks.
Critics, including the Internet Freedom Foundation, have flagged surveillance, exclusion and accountability concerns. As a private company, the Foundation is outside the Right to Information Act. In 2026, a public interest petition in the Kerala High Court also questioned its use of passenger data.
The governing law is the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (assent 11 August 2023). It places duties on “data fiduciaries”, gives rights such as access, correction and erasure to “data principals”, and sets up the Data Protection Board of India to decide disputes. Board provisions took effect on 13 November 2025; the rest are due by 13 May 2027. The Act follows the 2017 Puttaswamy verdict, which held privacy to be a fundamental right under Article 21.
Exam angle: how NDA, CDS and CAPF can ask this
- Science and technology: FRT, NFC and e-passport chips are likely one-liners.
- Polity: right to privacy (Puttaswamy, 2017) and the DPDP Act with its Data Protection Board.
- Internal security (CAPF): how voluntary biometrics sit alongside mandatory security and immigration checks, and the role of CERT-In audits.
Practice MCQs
Q1. Digi Yatra is mainly based on:
(a) Iris scanning (b) Fingerprints (c) Facial recognition (d) Voice recognition
Answer: (c) — a live face image is matched with the passenger’s credential.
Q2. Digi Yatra was first launched in December 2022 at:
(a) Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai (b) Delhi, Bengaluru, Varanasi (c) Hyderabad, Kolkata, Pune (d) Delhi, Kochi, Amritsar
Answer: (b) — these three airports formed the first phase.
Q3. In the international trial, the phone reads the e-passport chip using:
(a) Bluetooth (b) NFC (c) GPS (d) Infrared
Answer: (b) — Near Field Communication reads the embedded chip.
Q4. The DPDP Act received presidential assent in:
(a) 2019 (b) 2021 (c) 2023 (d) 2025
Answer: (c) — on 11 August 2023.
Frequently asked questions
Who runs Digi Yatra?
The Digi Yatra Foundation, a not-for-profit company owned by the Airports Authority of India and five airport operators. The Ministry of Civil Aviation coordinates it.
Can foreign nationals use it on international flights?
Not in the current trial, which is limited to Indian e-passport holders on selected Air India and IndiGo flights.
Does Digi Yatra replace immigration?
No. Passengers must still carry documents and clear airline checks and immigration.
Is Digi Yatra compulsory?
No. The government says it is voluntary and the manual process remains available.
What happens to face data?
Per the ministry, it stays in the phone wallet, goes encrypted to the departure airport and is deleted there 24 hours after departure.
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Sources: News On AIR (1 Nov 2026), Outlook/PTI (2 Nov 2026), Business Standard (Feb 2024), Wikipedia: Digi Yatra, Wikipedia: DPDP Act, 2023. Facts as reported up to 7 November 2026.
Featured image background (representative): Biswarup Ganguly / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0.
