After concerns were raised about the safety of passenger data collected by DigiYatra, sources in the Ministry of Civil Aviation have exclusively told CNBC-TV18 that there is no central storage of passenger data and the data is purged after 24 hours from departure time.
"There is no central storage of passenger's Personally Identifiable Information (PII) data in Digi Yatra using facial Recognition Technology. All the passenger data is encrypted and stored in the passenger's smartphone wallet. The data is shared only for a limited time duration with the origin airport where passenger ID needs to be validated," MOCA said.
Further, the sources also told that the DigiYatra app has already obtained certification from the Standardisation Testing and Quality Certification Directorate (STQC). Periodic audits and certifications are conducted by agencies empaneled with the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) and STQC.
Moreover, contrary to speculation, the Union government has no plans to make Digi Yatra mandatory at airports wherever it is present. Instead, passengers are advised to use it for a faster check-in experience. The government reiterated that there are no plans to make DigiYatra mandatory in the future.
Currently, DigiYatra is enabled in 5 airports and last week the civil aviation minister also said that DigiYatra will be expanded to 25 airports in 2024 in two phases.
As of now, DigiYatra is operational in five airports, and plans are underway to expand its implementation to 25 airports in two phases by 2024, as announced by the Civil Aviation Minister last week.
While the Central government has said that the data is stored in the person's phone and is purged in 24 hours, but still a big question remains unanswered who is saving the data, whether it's the government or Digi Yatra Foundation or some other third party.
The DigiYatra Foundation is a non-profit organisation tasked with streamlining air travel pursuant to the DigiYatra Policy of the government. It does not come under the ambit of the RTI.
First Published: Dec 20, 2023 5:22 PM IST
Check out our in-depth Market Coverage, Business News & get real-time Stock Market Updates on CNBC-TV18. Also, Watch our channels CNBC-TV18, CNBC Awaaz and CNBC Bajar Live on-the-go!
