- Why in news
- On 1 November 2026, the Ministry of Civil Aviation said Digi Yatra trials for international passengers have begun at seven airports, running from November to December 2026.
- What it is
- Digi Yatra is a facial-recognition-based, paperless entry system for air travellers at Indian airports. Passengers register once on a mobile app and store a digital credential in a wallet on their phone. The credential is then used at airport touchpoints instead of repeatedly showing ID and boarding pass.
- Trial airports
- Trials are at Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Cochin, Mumbai, Chennai and Amritsar.
- Eligibility
- Only Indian nationals holding e-passports can use it on select Air India and IndiGo international flights.
- How the credential is made
- The passenger scans the MRZ of the e-passport, reads the chip by NFC, takes a selfie and verifies the details.
- Storage
- The Verifiable Credential is kept in the passenger's Digi Yatra wallet on the device.
- Not a replacement
- It complements existing processes; documents, airline checks and immigration still apply.
Don’t confuse with Digi Yatra vs DigiLocker: Digi Yatra is an airport facial-recognition entry system; DigiLocker is a government cloud platform for storing documents.
Don’t confuse with MRZ vs NFC chip: The MRZ is the printed machine-readable lines on the passport page; the NFC chip is the embedded electronic storage read wirelessly.
Science and technology: 57 Prelims questions since 2013; most test the concept behind the news, not the news itself. In Mains, 12 news-triggered questions.
Why it matters
- Speeds up airport processing and supports Ease of Flying.
- Extends digital public infrastructure and e-passport use to international travel.
Problems
- Privacy and consent concerns over storage and use of biometric data.
- Uneven infrastructure across airports and limited to NFC-compatible smartphones.
Way forward
- Strong data protection safeguards under the data protection law, with clear consent and deletion rules.
- Use trial feedback to fix gaps before expanding to more airports in 2027.
Put in your answer
Digi Yatra scale: Over 26.5 million users and more than 110 million journeys across 39 domestic airports.
Expansion plan: A further 25 domestic airports are planned by 2027.
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UPSC’s own questions that come close to this issue, from our Prelims and Mains banks.
Prelims practice · Single answer
Ours, not from a UPSC paper
Consider the following statements about the Digi Yatra international passenger trials announced in November 2026: 1. The trials are open to all passengers, including foreign nationals, who hold any valid passport. 2. The credential is created by scanning the Machine Readable Zone of the e-passport, reading its chip using Near Field Communication, and taking a selfie. 3. Under the trials, Digi Yatra replaces immigration procedures and airline document checks for participating passengers. 4. The credential is stored in a Digi Yatra wallet on the passenger's own device.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
True or false?
1 of 5
Statements the way Prelims prints them. Say first, then see the fact.
1.The international trials of Digi Yatra are open to all passengers, including foreign nationals, holding any valid passport.
False. Only eligible Indian nationals holding e-passports can take part.
2.The trial credential is created by scanning the Machine Readable Zone of the e-passport and reading its chip using Near Field Communication on a smartphone.
True. MRZ scan plus NFC chip reading plus selfie.
3.Under the trials, Digi Yatra will replace immigration procedures and airline document checks for participating passengers.
False. It only complements existing processes; immigration and document checks continue.
4.Chennai and Amritsar are among the airports where the international trials are being held.
True. Seven airports include Chennai and Amritsar.
5.The Digi Yatra credential is stored in a wallet on the passenger's own device.
True. It is held in the Digi Yatra wallet on the device.
Written by us from the release, not by UPSC; checked by a second model.
Worth revising until Prelims 2028: most news questions come within two years of the event.