Digi Yatra has added driving licences as verified credentials in its airport identity app, giving Indian passengers an alternative to Aadhaar when enrolling for biometric travel processing.
The licence credential is retrieved through DigiLocker, the Indian government’s digital document wallet, with the passenger’s consent. New users can now enrol in Digi Yatra with either Aadhaar or a driving licence. Existing users can add a licence to their Digi Yatra Wallet and select either credential as the primary record used to match their name against a boarding pass.
Digi Yatra Foundation says the licence remains encrypted and stored on the passenger’s device. The organization says it does not place personally identifiable information in a central repository, and that passengers decide which credential to share. Use of the airport system remains voluntary.
The change expands the potential user base beyond people who prefer or are able to use Aadhaar. Figures cited by the foundation show that India has more than 236 million driving licence holders. It also advances a product roadmap begun last year to support multiple government-issued documents as verifiable credentials within Digi Yatra’s decentralized, self-sovereign identity architecture.
Digi Yatra currently operates at 39 airports and has recorded more than 25.5 million app downloads. The foundation says the system has facilitated more than 105 million passenger journeys using app-based identity credentials and facial recognition at airport checkpoints.
The credential expansion follows broader use of Digi Yatra for international transit processing at four Indian airports. The foundation is also preparing live international trials after completing an International Air Transport Association-aligned proof of concept for interoperable digital travel identity.
Support for passport-based verifiable credentials is included in the platform’s international roadmap. Digi Yatra has separately outlined a planned expansion to international travel, which would extend the app beyond domestic airport entry and boarding.
The app currently supports 11 regional languages, with all 22 scheduled Indian languages targeted by 2027. Digi Yatra also plans to add 26 airports over the same period, combining a larger physical footprint with a wider choice of identity credentials. Passengers would retain control over which supported document they designate as their primary travel credential.
Sources: Digi Yatra Foundation via ET CISO
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By the ID Tech Editorial Team
