DigiYatra is preparing for its first international expansion as it seeks to evolve from an airport facilitation platform into a cross-border digital travel identity system, beginning with countries that have relatively simpler immigration and visa requirements.
Countries including Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and Sri Lanka are being evaluated for initial deployments, while pilot opportunities are also being explored with the European Union, DigiYatra Foundation CEO Suresh Khadakbhavi told Fe. The platform plans to spend the next six months carrying out technical validations, interoperability assessments and consultations with airlines, airports, immigration authorities and governments.
“We are trying to see those countries where the visa norms are not very stringent. We could start there initially and then scale up,” Khadakbhavi said.
The move marks DigiYatra’s biggest expansion since launch and an ambition to participate in the emerging global ecosystem of digital travel credentials. While the platform currently enables facial recognition-based airport processing at 38 airports in India, the international version is designed to allow travellers to use a trusted digital identity across jurisdictions with fewer document checks.
The initiative builds on a proof-of-concept conducted on the Bengaluru-Doha route under the International Air Transport Association’s OneID framework. According to Khadakbhavi, the exercise tested whether identities generated within the DigiYatra ecosystem could be recognised and accepted by overseas systems in addition to facilitating digital credential sharing.
For international operations, DigiYatra will rely on electronic passports rather than Aadhaar, which underpins domestic enrollment. The technology module required for e-passport-based verification has already been developed and tested, the company said.
The larger challenge, however, lies beyond technology. Any international rollout would require approvals from national immigration authorities and compliance with country-specific border control and security protocols.
“Immigration is a sensitive subject. A lot of compliances have to be in place,” Khadakbhavi said.
The expansion would also bring DigiYatra under overseas privacy and data governance frameworks, including the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation. The company said its decentralised architecture, under which credentials are stored on users’ devices rather than in a central repository, could help address privacy requirements. User data is shared only for a specific travel purpose and is deleted after a limited period.
DigiYatra recently crossed 100 million users and continues to expand domestically, with more airports, including upcoming greenfield facilities, expected to join the platform during the current financial year.