India is levelling up its digital border standards and infrastructure with more biometric touchpoints to streamline security but attracting criticism of surveillance in a democratic state.
The availability of biometric systems doubled across 28 airports last month, ensuring that passengers can be processed through secure checks before crossing India’s airspace.
The Digi Yatra programme was launched in 2022 to promote paperless and hassle-free air travel for domestic passengers who pre-submit a selfie. Despite claims that queue times in airports have significantly reduced, data privacy concerns still hamper national milestones such as issuing over 1.3 billion biometric identity cards linked to various services. The service is accused of sharing data with government agencies rather than deleting private data from passengers within 24 hours.
3.8 million Indians to date have enrolled in Digi Yatra with plans to reach 10,000 by the end of 2024 and introduce an app for foreign travellers. The scheme is voluntary however passengers have reported feeling coerced into enrollment.
