At New Delhi, Mumbai & Bengaluru airports, biometrics set to rev up immigration checks

New Delhi: The government is planning to roll out a faster biometrics-based process for international passengers to speed up immigration checks as part of the strategy to develop India's airports as global transit hubs.

The New Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru airports will introduce automated immigration clearances, allowing international entries and departures without physical passport verification, people aware of the details told ET.

Authentication would be via face recognition or fingerprints.


Last week, civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia discussed plans with the chairman of the Airport Authority of India (AAI) and chief executives of private airports, and asked if the DigiYatra app could be used. Currently, domestic air passengers can use DigiYatra to save time via a paperless process.

e-Passports Issuance Starts This Year
The DigiYatra project is run by a private non-profit body, Digi Yatra Foundation, owned by AAI and private airports. "We are currently working on the prototype for electronic passport-based enrolment. Testing is in progress," Suresh Khadakbhavi, chief executive of Digi Yatra Foundation, told ET. "We will also work with the Bureau of Immigration and visa-issuing agencies for enabling this service for international visitors flying in and out of India."

First-time visitors to India would need to enrol and clear immigration with iris, facial and fingerprint biometrics at the manual counters. During departure, they would be able to use the automated clearance route.

On their subsequent trips, they will also be cleared with iris and facial biometrics at the manual counters if they use the same passport.

Khadakbhavi said this will be rolled out for international passengers initially, with Indians getting access after the government starts issuing e-passports. He added that it will reduce the need for passengers to repeatedly present their travel documents at touch points and allow for a more seamless and convenient journey.

Officials of the ministry of external affairs said the government is planning to issue e-passports to Indians from this year. hese will be combined paper and electronic passports, with a Radio Frequency Identification chip and antenna embedded as inlay in the back cover.

"The passport's critical information will be printed on its data page as well as stored in the chip," a senior government official said. "Samples of electronic passports produced by India Security Press, Nashik, which conform to standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organization are currently being tested. Full-scale manufacture and issue will commence with the completion of the technical ecosystem and infrastructure."

Transit Hubs
The government is framing a national policy to transform its airports into major international hubs that would offer single-point international connectivity for the entire South Asian region.

Long queues at immigration counters have been identified as one of the pain points.

The policy, which will need approval from the Cabinet, aims to frame laws for easing security and immigration bottlenecks at airports, allocation of international flying rights, and building necessary infrastructure so airports such as the National Capital's can become transit hubs, competing with the likes of Dubai and Singapore.