look news india
Big Change in Tatkal Ticket Booking: Indian Railways has taken an important decision to make the booking of Tatkal tickets even more safe, transparent and broker-free. Now, authentication of Aadhaar card will be mandatory for booking railway tickets under immediate category through IRCTC. This step has been taken with the objective of tightening illegal ticket sales, frauds and brokers activities, so that only real passengers can get the benefit of immediate quota.
How will the new rule work?
Under this new rule, any user who wants to book Tatkal tickets must first add their profile to the IRCTC website or app to the Aadhaar card. In this process:
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Registration of Aadhaar Number: The person booking the ticket will have to enter his 12 -digit Aadhaar number on the IRCTC portal.
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OTP verification: After entering the Aadhaar number, a one-time password (OTP) will be sent to the mobile number associated with it.
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Authentication: By entering this OTP at the designated place, the user will have to authenticate its identity.
This will ensure that only valid and verified people can book Tatkal tickets. If the mobile number related to Aadhaar is not available or does not have access to it, then there may be a problem in Tatkal ticket booking.
Why was this decision taken?
Railway officials believe that brokers and illegal agents block a large number of Tatkal tickets using fake identity and then sell them to passengers at high prices. This causes problems to the real needy passengers and they are forced to buy tickets at expensive rates at the last time. The imperative of Aadhaar certification will play a big role in preventing this illegal business, as now only as much booking in the name of a person will be possible as permission.
Common passengers will get benefit:
General passengers are expected to directly benefit from this change. When tickets blocked by brokers are available, the availability of seats in the immediate quota will increase and passengers traveling legitimately will be more likely to get confirmed tickets. This will also increase transparency and make the entire booking system more fair.
However, from when this rule will be effective, it is yet to be officially announced. Railway passengers are advised to get their Aadhaar card updated from the mobile number from now on and prepare to link their Aadhaar on the IRCTC profile to avail this facility.