India rolls out biometric e-passports in major overhaul
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
India, the world's fastest-growing major economy, has taken a significant step in its digital tra nsformation journey with the modernization of international travel by launching chip-enabled biometric e-passports. India joins several other nations, such as the United States, Canada, France, and Japan, in deploying this advanced technology. This transition is part of a broader digital overhaul aimed at bolstering border security, curbing identity theft, and expediting immigration processes for citizens.
With this initiative, India aligns itself with the standards of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), bringing its passport technology in line with global best practices. This move facilitates smoother travel for citizens and strengthens India's reputation as a forward-looking, technologically capable nation.
India's e-passport is a modern travel document that integrates physical and electronic features. It includes a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) chip and an embedded antenna within the passport's cover, which securely stores the holder's personal details and biometric data. This advanced passport can be recognized by a small gold-colored symbol printed on the lower portion of the front cover, indicating the presence of the electronic chip.
The initiative began in April 2024 as part of the revamped Passport Seva Programme 2.0. Initial testing reportedly took place in a select group of cities, including Nagpur, Bhubaneswar, Jammu, Panaji, Shimla, Raipur, Amritsar, Jaipur, Chennai, Hyderabad, Surat, and Ranchi. A full-scale national deployment is expected to be completed by mid-2025.
Each e-passport features an embedded Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) chip and an antenna integrated into the back cover. The chip securely stores the holder's personal and biometric details, such as a digital facial image, fingerprints, name, birthdate, and passport number. This information is safeguarded by global encryption protocols like Basic Access Control (BAC), Passive Authentication (PA), and Extended Access Control (EAC), ensuring robust data protection.
These smart passports are compatible with automated border control systems, commonly known as e-gates, which enable contactless identity verification. This advancement significantly reduces processing time at immigration checkpoints by replacing manual document checks with fast, automated procedures.
Applying for a biometric passport is straightforward. Citizens can initiate the process through the Passport Seva Portal, book an appointment at a Passport Seva Kendra or designated Post Office, and complete biometric data collection in person. All biometric passports are manufactured domestically at the India Security Press in Nashik, ensuring stringent data privacy while supporting the government's Make in India mission and safeguarding national interests.
India's introduction of biometric e-passports marks a crucial phase in its digital travel journey. Future developments are expected to include mobile-based passport wallets, integration with Aadhaar and DigiLocker systems, blockchain-backed identity verification, and even visa data embedded directly into passport chips. This move signals a shift toward a more intelligent, paperless, and contact-free travel ecosystem. By embracing this digital innovation, India enhances its border management capabilities and paves the way for a smarter, more seamless travel experience for its citizens in the coming years.
According to the recent World Tourism Barometer released by the United Nations Tourism, approximately 1.4 billion people engaged in international travel during 2024, signaling a near-complete rebound to pre-COVID levels—reaching 99% of figures recorded before the pandemic. This marks an 11% growth compared to 2023, translating to about 140 million additional international tourist arrivals. The surge was fueled by strong post-pandemic travel demand, solid performance from major outbound markets, and the continued revival of tourism across destinations in Asia-Pacific.
This global resurgence of international travel has prompted many countries to adopt biometric solutions to manage increasing traveler volumes securely. Traditional machine-readable passports are more susceptible to fraud and unauthorized alterations. In contrast, biometric passports offer heightened security and authenticity, significantly reducing the risk of forgery and identity misuse.
Existing passports to remain valid
All passports currently issued by the government will remain valid until their designated expiry dates. There is no requirement for citizens to replace existing passports prematurely. As individual passport offices become equipped with the necessary technology to issue e-passports, applicants submitting requests through those offices will begin receiving the new electronic version.
The nationwide rollout of e-passports is being implemented in stages and is expected to take several months to reach all passport offices nationwide. One of the most significant advantages of the e-passport lies in its ability to better protect and validate the passport holder's personal information.
Each e-passport will store the holder's details in printed form on the passport booklet and digitally within an embedded chip. This chip contains cryptographically signed data that can be verified by immigration authorities worldwide, providing strong protection against document tampering, counterfeiting, and misuse. It also enables rapid and accurate authentication at border checkpoints.
The core technology enabling this secure framework is Public Key Infrastructure (PKI), which is critical in verifying the authenticity and integrity of the data stored on the chip. PKI ensures that personal and biometric information remains secure and originates from a legitimate source, offering an added layer of trust in global travel documentation.
Watch: Here's how digital vouchers will boost Japan tourism
title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen="">
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
3 hours ago
- BBC News
Isro's Shubhanshu Shukla: Indian pilot set for historic space journey on Axiom-4
The Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4), set to take off from Nasa's Kennedy Space Center in Florida next week, will be piloted by an Indian as it soars towards the International Space Station (ISS).Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla of the Indian air force is among the four-member multi-country crew of Ax-4 that will be spending two weeks on the flight, scheduled for 10 June at 08:22 EDT (12:22GMT; 17:52IST), has generated a huge interest in India as Group Captain Shukla will only be the second Indian ever to travel to space and the first to visit the trip comes 41 years after cosmonaut Rakesh Sharma became the first Indian to fly to space aboard a Russian Soyuz in 1984. He spent nearly eight days is led by former Nasa astronaut Peggy Whitson - a space veteran who has been commander of ISS twice, spent hundreds of days in space and done 10 space walks. The team also includes Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski from Poland and Tibor Kapu from Hungary - just like the Indian astronaut, they will also be taking their countries back to space after more than four decades. Experts say the pilot's role is key, as he would serve as second-in-command to the mission commander, assisting with spacecraft operations during launch, docking, undocking and return to astronauts, who have been in quarantine since 25 May to prepare for the trip, addressed a press conference on Tuesday night where they showed-off Joy - a small, white toy swan they said would be "the fifth crew member" on Ax-4."We are good for the launch, we have completed all the training and the team has bonded well," Commander Whitson the past year as "nothing short of transformative" for him, Group Captain Shukla said he did not have words to describe his excitement."It has been an amazing journey so far, but the best is yet to come," he said. "As I go into space, I carry not just instruments and equipment, I carry hopes and dreams of a billion hearts."I request all Indians to pray for the success of our mission," he added. The 39-year-old was among four Indian air force officers shortlisted last year to travel on the country's first-ever human space flight, scheduled for Gaganyaan mission aims to send three astronauts to an orbit of 400km and bring them back after three days. India has also announced ambitious plans to set up a space station by 2035 and send an astronaut to the Moon by space agency Isro has been carrying out a number of tests to prepare for Gaganyaan. In December, it plans to send a female humanoid robot to space as part of the officials say the weekend's mission comes as a "unique exciting opportunity" for Isro and has generated a lot of interest in trip to ISS aboard Ax-4 - a commercial flight operated by Houston-based private company Axiom Space - is a collaborative effort between Nasa, Isro and European Space Agency (Esa).Sunday's flight will be launched using the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule on a Falcon 9 rocket. Isro, which has paid 5bn rupees ($59m; £43m) to secure a seat for Group Captain Shukla and his training, says the experience he will gain during his trip to the ISS will help India immensely."The benefit we will get from this mission is phenomenal in terms of the training, exposure to the facilities and the experience of jointly conducting experiments in space," Isro Chairman V Narayanan recently Balan, Isro project director, said Group Captain Shukla had been training since August last year. "He's undergone rigorous training, including physical and psychological assessments, to prepare for the journey." Who is Group Captain Shukla? Born on 10 October 1985 in the northern city of Lucknow, Group Captain Shukla joined the Indian air force as a fighter pilot in 2006. According to Axiom Space, he has over 2,000 hours of flying experience and has flown MiGs, Sukhois, Dorniers, Jaguars and sister Shuchi Mishra, however, told the BBC that his entry into the air force was "accidental"."When he was 17 and in high school, his friend got a form to apply to the National Defence Academy. But this friend was slightly overage so he was not qualified. Not wanting to waste the form, Shubhanshu filled it up," Ms Mishra said."He was selected - and has never looked back."Ms Mishra says their family "is thrilled as one of ours has been chosen out of India's 1.4 billion people" for this mission."We all feel so privileged and proud that he's a part of our family and that we've been a part of his journey."Her brother, she says, is undertaking this journey for his country - for the next generation."He always tells people to dream big, to do something for the nation. We are hoping that his trip will inspire the next generation." What will he be doing on Ax-4? Besides piloting the mission, the Indian astronaut will have a busy schedule during his time on the huge interest in the flight, Isro has said they are organising events for him to interact with Indian students and answer their questions while floating in space."We believe it will motivate our young minds to become passionate about space tech," Mr Balan most of the time, the four-member crew will be conducting 60 scientific experiments, seven of which come from India. Former Nasa scientist Mila Mitra says Isro's experiments will help improve our understanding of space and its effects on biology and of the key experiments, she explains, will investigate the impact of spaceflight on six varieties of crop seeds. "This project aims to help understand how crops may be grown in space for future exploration missions. After the mission, seeds will be grown for multiple generations and plants showing preferred traits will be selected for genetic analyses."Another Isro experiment involves growing three strains of microalgae which could be used as food, fuel or even in life support systems and this will help identify the most suitable ones for growing in microgravity, she Isro projects would also investigate how tardigrades - micro-animals on Earth that can survive extreme environments - would fare in space. "The project will examine the revival of dormant tardigrades, count the number of eggs laid and hatched during a mission, and compare space-flown versus ground control populations," Ms Mitra other experiments aim to identify how muscle loss occurs in space and how it can be treated; and the physical and cognitive impact of using computer screens in microgravity. "The research will study how gaze fixation and rapid eye movements are affected by being in space, and how this may affect an astronaut's stress and wellbeing. The results could influence future spacecraft computer design and interaction," she BBC News India on Instagram, YouTube, X and Facebook.
Reuters
6 hours ago
- Reuters
China rejects Dutch minister's spying accusation, says tech achievements not 'stolen'
BEIJING, June 3 (Reuters) - China denied on Tuesday that its scientific and technological achievements were due to "stolen" intellectual property, after comments by the Dutch defence minister accusing Beijing of intensifying its espionage, especially on semiconductors. China firmly opposes attempts to "smear" it using accusations of "spying" and "cyberattacks" as a pretext, the Chinese foreign ministry said in a written response to Reuters. It urged relevant sides to look at China objectively and fairly. The Dutch military intelligence agency said last year that Chinese spies had targeted the Dutch semiconductor, aerospace and maritime industries. Such attacks have intensified, Dutch Defence Minister Ruben Brekelmans said at a forum on Saturday.
The Independent
6 hours ago
- The Independent
These wireless headphones have finally outranked my all-time favourites
Sony WH-1000XM6 design and comfort While the all-new XM6 borrow some of the same minimalist styling as the XM5, Sony's made enough changes here that it feels like an upgrade. The earcups are rounder and more sculpted, ditching that slightly squared-off look that never quite grew on me. They look more polished, with no seam running down the side of the earcups. But beyond the cleaner design, one of the first things you'll notice is that they fold again. After abandoning the hinges on the XM5, Sony's brought them back, and it genuinely makes a world of difference. The headphones now collapse inwards into a much more travel-friendly shape, making them easier to chuck into a bag. The only annoying bit? Despite the smaller footprint, the case is still just as big as the zip-up one that came with the XM5. That said, I genuinely love the design of the new case. You fold the headphones up, pop them in and close the lid. It's instant – it clicks shut with a magnetic flap, so there's no faffing about trying to line up a zip. You still get an internal pocket for cables, and the whole thing feels sturdy and protective. There's also a wider headband. It's still wrapped in that soft vegan leather, but the underside is now flatter and thicker towards the back, so it's easier to tell which way round to wear them without feeling around for the tactile L marker. The tweak is supposed to improve comfort and weight distribution – and maybe it will for some people – but I actually found its predecessor more comfortable. The new fit has a firmer clamping force that improves sound isolation, but after long sessions, I started to feel a bit of pinch at the crown. It's not unbearable, but a little more noticeable than I'd like. The XM5s felt more relaxed on my head, especially when wearing them for a full day. They didn't fall off or rattle around my head when I was wearing them at the gym, however. Talking of tactile markers, the power button has a small but welcome glow-up. It's now circular and slightly recessed, making it much easier to locate by touch, so no more thumbing around the cup wondering if you've just hit the ANC toggle by mistake. That's still a longer, flatter strip, so the two are thankfully easy to tell apart without looking. You can also turn the ANC button into a microphone mute button in the Sony Sound Connect settings – this will mute and unmute your mic if you click the ANC button twice. There are minor changes to the touch controls, but they feel more responsive this time around. I didn't find myself repeating gestures as often as I did with the XM5. There's still no haptic feedback, but there are sound effects, so you know when swipes and taps are registered. The XM6 come in black, platinum silver and a new midnight blue colour. Overall, it's just a much more refined pair of cans compared to the XM5. Sony WH-1000XM6 features The WH-1000XM6 are just as feature-packed as ever. If you've used the XM5s, most of this will feel familiar. Speak-to-Chat (which pauses your music the moment you start talking) isn't turned on by default anymore, a welcome change if, like me, you've always found it more annoying than helpful. Quick Attention mode is still here and works well – just cover the right earcup and it'll pipe in the outside world without you having to fumble with buttons. You've also got support for LDAC, high-res wireless audio, multipoint for two devices, and DSEE Extreme upscaling. But there are new tricks worth flagging. The first is auto switch, a feature borrowed from Sony's newer LinkBuds Fit and LinkBuds Open. It automatically switches the music to your LinkBuds speaker when you return home (or pause your music on your headphones). Leave the house, and it'll switch it straight back to your headphones again. It's a really neat little feature. One of my other favourite features from the LinkBuds is also here: Background Music mode. This pushes your music outwards, so it feels like it's coming from a distance, a little like listening to a playlist in a café. It's really good if you need to focus but don't want it to be completely silent. It'll stop you from singing along to tracks because it sounds so far away. The XM6 also feature a new QN3 processor that's said to be seven times faster than the QM1 chip in the XM5. It powers smarter noise cancelling, with a new adaptive NC optimiser that adjusts on the fly depending on your environment and how much you're moving (but more on that below). There's now a dedicated Cinema mode that upmixes stereo sound into Sony's 360 Reality Audio. I tried this while watching a couple of shows on Netflix and was genuinely surprised by how immersive it felt. Dialogue still sounded clean and centred, but ambient effects and music had a bit more air and spatial separation. Is it Dolby Atmos? No. But for stereo content, it's surprisingly convincing. There's also a new ten-band EQ (up from the 5-band EQ on the XM5), including a dedicated Gaming preset, plus support for Bluetooth LE Audio and Auracast, though there's not much that takes advantage of those just yet. One neat upgrade is that you can now listen while charging – something the XM5 didn't allow. Sadly, there's still no USB-C audio, so wired playback is limited to the 3.5mm jack. Sony WH-1000XM6 noise cancellation and call quality Sony's noise cancellation has always been among the best, but the WH-1000XM6 improve that even further, making noise cancellation more consistent and natural. The XM5 had a slightly annoying lag with the ANC when the noise level changed. I found that if I walked from a quiet room into a noisy office, I'd hear that swoosh of sound sneak in before the ANC kicked in to silence it. It wasn't a deal-breaker, but it was distracting. I'm pleased to report that doesn't happen on the XM6 in my initial tests. With the new adaptive NC optimiser, it now feels much more stable and immediate. It handles shifts in environmental sound well without drawing attention to itself. It's better in every way. It's not quite as forceful as the Bose QuietComfort Ultra, which still has a kind of vacuum-seal feel, but the XM6 is less fatiguing and more natural over long sessions. Wind noise was barely an issue in testing, even when walking outdoors or near traffic. Saying that, I still think ambient mode is better on the AirPods Max. While it's definitely improved, and you can hear practically every sound in your environment, the AirPods always make it sound like you're not wearing any headphones at all. There's still a little bit of blunting of environmental sounds with these headphones. In terms of call quality. Sony's new beamforming setup now uses three mics per earcup instead of two, and combined with some clever AI, it's remarkably good at isolating your voice. I made a few long calls in loud environments and didn't get a single 'Can you repeat that?' back. However, it still struggles a little with the wind. If you wanted better and more subtle noise-cancelling from your headphones, Sony's really delivered with the XM6 on first test. Sony WH-1000XM6 sound OK, Sony's done it. These are my favourite-sounding noise-cancelling headphones right now – and I don't say that lightly. I already liked the tuning on the XM5s, but I always found that the bass lacked a little richness. These fix that issue and bring the sound to an all-new level. There's a newly developed 30mm driver built with the same carbon fibre composite materials in Sony's premium Walkman range, and it has been tuned in collaboration with Grammy-winning mastering engineers. Sony says this gives your music better separation, deeper bass and more clarity across the board. There's also a look-ahead noise shaper built into the processor, designed to smooth out sudden changes in volume and reduce distortion when streaming. Even without playing around with any EQ settings, the XM6 sound more spacious and balanced. When I listened to the vocals on Olivia Rodrigo's Sour, I could feel more depth and better separation in the mids. Bass is stronger too, but not in a showy way; it's less murky, more present. The rubbery synth bassline on MGMT's Little Dark Age used to feel a bit bloated on the XM5s, but here it's tight and punchy, gliding underneath the track without swallowing everything else. Dan Romer's Station Eleven score also sounds sparse and intimate. The XM6 do a better job of capturing string swells, with a sense of texture that wasn't quite as defined on the XM5. If you're coming from the XM5s, it's a clear step up, and I think the XM6s are more musical than the Bose QC Ultra or the AirPods Max. After a few days of listening, these are excellent. As for battery life, it's still rated at 30 hours – the same as the XM5 – but I haven't had long enough with them to say how accurate that claim is just yet. They've held up well so far, even with ANC on, but I'll need more time to test them properly across longer stretches. Still, in 2025, 30 hours doesn't feel quite as generous as it used to. Plenty of cheaper models can eke out more.
