The Railway Ministry has granted the Centre for Railway Information System (CRIS) the ability to perform Aadhaar authentication for establishing passenger identity.
A May 27, 2025, Gazette notification announced that the authentication would be voluntary, impacting ticket-checking staff, crew members, and passengers.
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw stated that e-Aadhaar authentication would aid genuine users in obtaining confirmed Tatkal tickets.
Currently, IRCTC utilizes third-party services for Aadhaar authentication. However, the new directive promises faster processing. With over 130 million active IRCTC users, only 12 million are Aadhaar-verified. The ministry encourages account holders to link their Aadhaar for priority Tatkal booking.
