Indian Railways has significantly tightened security around the Tatkal ticketing system by expanding Aadhaar-based OTP verification to a large network of trains for online Tatkal bookings.
“Aadhaar-based OTP verification for online Tatkal ticket booking is now operational in 322 trains,” Railways minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said in response to a parliamentary query in the lower house today. Aimed at strengthening security provisions of the railway ticket booking system, Aadhaar-based OTP for Tatkal bookings at reservation counters has also been introduced in a phased manner.
As of December 4, the Aadhaar OTP verification system for booking trains has been successfully implemented for 322 trains.
What is the Aadhaar OTP verification system?
The Aadhaar OTP verification system is a security feature that uses your Aadhaar-linked mobile number to confirm your identity during Tatkal ticket booking. As per the ministry, the feature was added to the booking process to prevent misuse by fake or duplicate IRCTC accounts.
Earlier, for some of the most in-demand trains, Tatkal tickets would get booked within seconds or a few minutes due to bots, misuse, and fake IDs. Now with the Aadhaar OTP verification blocking Bots and fake accounts. Genuine users are expected to get easier access to Tatkal tickets which are now anticipated to remain available for a longer window.
Impact of the move
The minister also informed that rigorous revalidation and verification of user accounts have been done. In a major clean-up of the IRCTC database, the ministry has deactivated over 3.02 crore suspicious user IDs, marking one of the largest crackdowns on ticketing fraud.
Anti-bot tools like Akamai have been integrated into the booking system to block automated scripts and ensure fair access for genuine users. Complaints have also been filed on the National Cyber Crime Portal for suspiciously booked PNRs, the minister added.
“As a result of this move, the confirmed Tatkal ticket availability time has increased in about 95 per cent of the 96 popular trains,” Vaishnaw submitted to the Lok Sabha earlier today.