NEW DELHI: To ensure fair and transparent access to online ticket booking under the Tatkal quota, the Ministry of Railways announced on Wednesday that only Aadhaar-authorised users will be able to book Tatkal tickets on the IRCTC website and its app , effective from July 1 this year.
The Railways has also decided no agent bookings will be permitted during the first 30 minutes after Tatkal bookings open for both AC and non-AC classes. This marks the first such decisive step taken following extensive consultations between experts and Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, who personally analysed the process before approving the changes.
Confirming the decision, a senior Railway Ministry official said that the modifications to the Tatkal ticket booking system are aimed at enhancing user authentication and curbing misuse by fraudulent agents.
The ministry explained the new procedure: “Aadhaar-based OTP authentication will become mandatory for Tatkal bookings made online starting from July 15 this year.”
It said, “Tatkal tickets shall be available for booking through computerised PRS (Passenger Reservation System) counters of Indian Railways/authorised agents only after authentication of a system-generated OTP, which shall be sent through the system on the mobile number furnished by the users at the time of booking”.