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Digi Yatra

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Digi Yatra is an industry-led digital initiative coordinated by the Ministry of Civil Aviation in India.[1] Digi Yatra utilizes facial recognition to verify passenger identities at various checkpoints, such as check-in, security, and boarding gates, without the need for physical documents. Specific queues and check-ins have been set up in fifteen airports for passengers who have registered through the Digi Yatra app. Another 13 airports are expected to be launched in April 2024. It aims to provide a paperless travel experience to air passengers.[2][3][4]

Digi Yatra
डिजी यात्रा
Logo for the Digi Yatra Foundation
SloganA New Digital Experience for Air Travellers
OwnerDigi Yatra Foundation (DYF)
CountryIndia
Launched1 December 2022; 17 months ago (2022-12-01)
At Delhi, Varanasi, and Bengaluru Airports
StatusActive
Websitehttps://digiyatrafoundation.com/

Ownership edit

Digi Yatra was launched by the "Digi Yatra Foundation", which is private not-for-profit company owned by the Airports Authority of India (26%) and 5 other private airports - Hyderabad, Cochin, Bangalore, Mumbai and Delhi all having a 14.8% stake each.[5][6] It is not answerable to RTI requests under the Right to Information Act, 2005.[7]

History edit

The app was developed by Hyderabad-based startup Dataevolve Solutions.[8] The company was selected through the national start-up challenge conducted by NITI Aayog under Atal Innovation Mission (AIM).[9]

It was launched on 1 December 2022 in its first phase in Bangalore, Varanasi and Delhi.[10][11] In April 2023, it was expanded to Vijayawada, Kolkata, Hyderabad, and Pune airports.[12] In June 2023, Delhi Airport’s Terminal 3 (T3), announced that passengers traveling from T3 could use Digi Yatra from the airport premises without using the Digi Yatra mobile application.[13][14] In the same month, Digi Yatra announced that their service reached one million users.[15] In August 2023, Ahmedabad's Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport implemented the Digi Yatra system.[16]

Privacy concerns and controversies edit

Western media and affiliates have been highlighting issues with Digi Yatra. According to a January 2024 survey, 29% of passengers in the Digi Yatra biometric system were signed up without their knowledge. Security personnel and staff at Indian airports have allegedly been capturing the face biometrics of passengers and non-consensually enrolling them in Digi Yatra, without even informing the passenger what they are doing it for.[17] Another 15% of passengers only signed up for the app because they could not find the regular gate.[18]

In April 2024, the app stopped working without passengers being given any prior notice. The app remained down for several days, and the foundation issued a statement about it being down for infrastructure upgrades. They had to migrate users to a new app, and in process, completely bricked the old app to ensure everyone moved to the newer version.[19][20] A major difference between the two apps was that the new app was published on Google Play Store under a domain controlled by the foundation, while the previous app was published under a domain owned by Data Evolve, the company that initially developed the app.

Avinash Kommireddi, the CEO of Dataevolve solutions, had also been arrested for siphoning ₹36.5 crores of funds from Andhra Pradesh Police in an e-challan scam just a few months before this change.[21][22][23]

The Internet Freedom Foundation has raised concerns about the "privacy, surveillance, exclusion errors and lack of institutional accountability and transparency" with Digi Yatra.[17][24] Privacy experts have said that Digi Yatra suffers from a poor governance structure and the lack of information and disclosures, despite it being a partly government-run service, have made it unreliable.[6]

Digi Yatra also forces users to sign up using Aadhaar. They have stated that there are plans to integrate other ID proofs, but there has been no progress on this as of April 2024.[25]

References edit

  1. ^ "Digi Yatra- A New Digital Experience for Air Travellers| National Portal of India". www.india.gov.in. Archived from the original on 4 October 2023. Retrieved 2 December 2022.
  2. ^ "Digi Yatra, a paperless airport entry facility launched: All you need to know". Hindustan Times. 1 December 2022. Retrieved 2 December 2022.
  3. ^ Livemint (17 August 2022). "Explained: What is Digi Yatra, how it will work and other questions answered". mint. Retrieved 2 December 2022.
  4. ^ "What is Digi Yatra for air travel, which allows passengers a paperless entry at THESE airports?". DNA India. Retrieved 2 December 2022.
  5. ^ "About Us". Digiyatra Foundation. Archived from the original on 16 March 2024. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
  6. ^ a b Majumder, Arindam; P, Suraksha (16 April 2024). "Digiyatra CEO denies storing passenger data". The Economic Times. ISSN 0013-0389. Archived from the original on 16 April 2024. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
  7. ^ "Digi Yatra Not Under RTI as Run by a Private 'Non-Profit Body': Ministry of Civil Aviation". The Wire. 15 March 2023. Archived from the original on 23 March 2023. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
  8. ^ "This Hyderabad-based startup is behind the airport walk-in app DigiYatra". 2 February 2023. Archived from the original on 24 June 2023.
  9. ^ "Digi Yatra to be implemented at Kolkata, Pune, Vijayawada and Hyderabad Airports by March 2023". 2 February 2023. Archived from the original on 24 June 2023. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
  10. ^ "Facial recognition technology introduced at 3 airports in India under Digi Yatra initiative". The Indian Express. 2 December 2022. Archived from the original on 2 December 2022. Retrieved 2 December 2022.
  11. ^ Nigam, Saumya (2 December 2022). "DigiYatra launched in Delhi, Bengaluru and Varanasi Airports: Everything you need to know". India TV News. Archived from the original on 2 December 2022. Retrieved 2 December 2022.
  12. ^ Roshni (3 March 2023). "DigiYatra App: How to use it for airport check-ins". India Today. Archived from the original on 6 March 2023. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
  13. ^ "IGI Airport allows passengers to use DigiYatra without mobile app". Financial Express. 9 June 2023. Archived from the original on 8 June 2023. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
  14. ^ "Delhi's IGI Airport introduces app free 'DigiYatra' for passengers". Mint. 8 June 2023. Archived from the original on 8 June 2023. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
  15. ^ "Digi Yatra App user registration crosses 1 million mark". Business Line. 22 June 2023. Archived from the original on 22 June 2023. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
  16. ^ "Ahmedabad: Digi Yatra to facilitate seamless travel". The Times of India. 29 August 2023. ISSN 0971-8257. Archived from the original on 21 November 2023. Retrieved 21 November 2023.
  17. ^ a b McConvey, Joel R. (29 January 2024). "Digi Yatra still ruffling feathers among air travelers, but keeps growing". Biometric Update. Archived from the original on 29 January 2024. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
  18. ^ "'Didn't find regular queue': Fliers still confused about DigiYatra, reveals survey". Business Today. 28 January 2024. Archived from the original on 28 January 2024. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
  19. ^ Lobo, Simone (3 April 2024). "DigiYatra app users asked to download new app". MediaNama. Archived from the original on 3 April 2024. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
  20. ^ "Digi Yatra gets an all-new app, old one will not work at airports: How to download and other details". Moneycontrol. 10 April 2024. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
  21. ^ Reddy, U Sudhakar (31 October 2023). "ED issues ECIR in Andhra e-challan scam involving ex-DGP's son-in-law". The Times of India. ISSN 0971-8257. Archived from the original on 7 November 2023. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
  22. ^ Kumar PV, Ramana (22 November 2023). "Ex-AP DGP's Nephew Arrested for Siphoning Police's E-challan Money". News18. Archived from the original on 22 December 2023. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
  23. ^ Kommireddi Avinash vs The State : S.H.O, Tadepalli,P.S Crl.M.P.No. 65 of 2024 in Crime No. 628/2023 of Tadepalli,P.S
  24. ^ "Resist Surveillance Tech, Reject Digi Yatra". Internet Freedom Foundation. 16 January 2024. Archived from the original on 14 March 2024. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
  25. ^ "FAQ". DigiYatra Foundation. Archived from the original on 16 March 2024. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
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