E-Aadhaar authentication soon for Tatkal train ticket booking
Indian Railways will soon mandate e-Aadhaar authentication for Tatkal train ticket bookings to curb ticket hoarding and touts, potentially increasing ticket availability. The initiative prioritizes Aadhaar-linked accounts during the initial 10 minutes of Tatkal sales, excluding even IRCTC agents. This move is part of a broader campaign against automated booking tools, with millions of accounts already blocked or under investigation.
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The Indian Railways is going to mandate e-Aadhaar authentication for booking Tatkal train tickets. This move is aimed at cracking down ticket hoarders and touts. It is expected to increase availability of tickets under the Tatkal quota.'Indian Railways will soon start using e-Aadhaar authentication to book Tatkal tickets. This will help genuine users get confirmed tickets during need,' Union Railway Minister , Ashwini Vaishnaw said Wednesday.Passengers can normally book train tickets up to 60 days in advance depending on seat availability. Roughly 20% of all tickets are sold at a premium through the Tatkal window which opens a day before the train's scheduled departure, at 10:00 AM.Senior officials said the roll out of e-Aadhaar authentication while booking tickets is expected to start from later this month. According to official estimates, more than half the tickets sold online under the Tatkal quota are booked within the first 10 minutes of window opening.'Account holders who link their accounts with the Aadhaar card will get priority during the first 10 minutes of Tatkal ticket sales,' officials said while adding even authorised agents of Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation ( IRCTC ) will not be allowed to book tickets within the first 10 minutes of the Tatkal window opening.'It will become necessary to verify your IRCTC account through Aadhaar,' officials added.The railways has launched a campaign against the use of automated tools to book tickets online.An official statement said over 24 million users have been blocked in the past six months. Another 2 million other accounts have been flagged as suspicious and are under investigation. There are currently over 130 million active subscribers on the IRCTC website, of which only 12 million are Aadhaar-verified.
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