Railway to mandate Aadhaar verification to book Tatkal tickets

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that the Railway is set to mandate the use of e-Aadhaar to authenticate to book Tatkal tickets. 

Almost a week after the notification, Ashwini Vaishnaw confirmed the plans of Aadhar verification for Tatkal tickets.

Railway officials say that at present, IRCTC does get Aadhaar authentication done through a third party, but after the Gazette notification, it will be much easier and faster to get the authentication done.

The Ministry said that the Railways is planning to make the Tatkal ticketing process more robust by making some of the rules more stringent like only Aadhaar-verified accounts will be allowed to book online Tatkal tickets, and Aadhaar-based OTP authentication shall also be required for booking.

Sources said that counter-based tatkal tickets may also be booked after Aadhaar verification to control malpractices.

According to the Gazette notification, the process for Aadhaar authentication is voluntary, and a passenger has to give his or her consent for it.