Lok Sabha Question No. 5426 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-03-25
Subject: Aadhaar based Authentication for Railway Ticket Booking
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Shri Babu Singh Kushwaha, Shri Neeraj Maurya, Shri Devesh Shakya

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 5426

## TO BE ANSWERED ON 25.03.2026

## AADHAAR BASED AUTHENTICATION FOR RAILWAY TICKET BOOKING

†5426. SHRI BABU SINGH KUSHWAHA: SHRI NEERAJ MAURYA: SHRI DEVESH SHAKYA:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a)  whether the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) has implemented the Aadhaar authentication process to prevent misuse of the online ticket booking system and consequently, a large number of user  accounts  have  been  deactivated/closed  due  to  non-linking  with Aadhaar or suspicious activities;
- (b) if so, the details of the number of such IRCTC accounts closed across the country during the last three years, State and year-wise and details of Uttar Pradesh particularly Etah, Kasganj, Jaunpur and Bareilly;
- (c) the extent to which  the mandatory  Aadhaar  authentication  has effectively  curtailed  fake  and  agent-operated  ticket  booking  accounts and the improvement in ticket availability for genuine passengers as a result thereof;
- (d) the comparative data of online and counter ticket sales during the last one  year  following  the  tightening  of regulations  on  online  ticket booking;
- (e) whether the Government is considering the implementation of any new technological or monitoring measures to completely eliminate the ticket black-marketing network;
- (f)  whether  the  Government  has  data  regarding  the  number  of  such deactivated accounts  that  have been  reactivated following a reverification process; and
- (g)  whether  the  Government  is  formulating  any  simplified  reactivation procedure for the benefit of such users and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, INFORMATION & BROADCASTING AND

ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

(SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)

- (a)  to  (g)  To  prevent  the  misuse  of  the  reservation  facility  &  to  ensure transparency, the following steps have been taken by Indian Railways:

§

- i. With effect from 01-07-2025, tickets under Tatkal Scheme can be booked  through  the  website  of  Indian  Railway  Catering  and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC)/its app only by Aadhaar authenticated users.
- ii. During  the  opening  day  of  general  reservation  of  ARP ,  the reserved general tickets can be booked through the website of IRCTC or its app only by Aadhar authenticated users.

Measures taken in this regard have improved ease of booking by reducing instant booking of tickets.  The system has also been made more equitable by restricting multiple bookings using fake accounts. No user account has been deactivated due to non-linking of Aadhaar.

The comparative details  of  number  of  tickets booked  online  and  through counter during financial year of 2025-26 (upto February, 26) is as under:

| Financial Year              |   No. of tickets booked online (in crore) |   No. of tickets booked through counter (in crore) |
|-----------------------------|-------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------|
| 2025-26 (upto February, 26) |                                     48.25 |                                               6.15 |

IRCTC adopts broad parameters for identifying fake/malicious user ids/User accounts  like,  unrealistic  mobile  numbers,  disposable  email  domains,  IP Addresses,  Sequential  and  Gibberish  User  IDs  etc.  During  calendar  year 2025,  3.04  crore  user  accounts  were  deactivated  and  2.94  crore  user accounts were put under temporary suspension with option of Revalidation. However,  during the period 01.01.2025  to 28.02.2026, 1,80,474 user accounts have been re-activated.

Aadhaar authentication provides instantaneous verification of user uniqueness,  which  is  critical  considering  the  time-sensitive  nature  of Tatkal  ticket  booking.  The  introduction  of  Aadhaar  authentication  has helped  in  preventing  the  creation  and  operation  of  fake  or  unauthorized

agent-controlled multiple user accounts by imposing a uniqueness constraint.

This measure acts as an effective safeguard against account multiplication and automated misuse, thereby ensuring fair allocation of Tatkal tickets. Consequently,  Aadhaar  authentication  has  contributed  to  improved  ticket availability  for  genuine  passengers  by  reducing  unfair  booking  practices and enhancing transparency in the online Tatkal booking system.

Further,  following  steps  have  also  been  taken  by  IRCTC  to  ensure  that tickets are made available to the genuine users by eliminating the Network of Ticket Scalping:

-  To  optimize  system  performance,  IRCTC  has  already implemented a Content Delivery Network (CDN) to offload static content and reduce direct traffic on NGeT website servers.
-  Further,  Anti  BOT  Technology  is  in  place  which  helps  in  mitigating malicious/suspicious  attempts  which  on  an  average  is  mitigated  to the extent of 64%.
-  This helps in mitigating malicious traffic and providing static content reducing  load  on  system  and  thus  enhancing  the  experience  for genuine and verified users.
-  Substantial quantum of malicious traffic is intercepted frequently.
-  408 complaints have been lodged on the National Cyber Crime Portal pertaining to 4.07 lakh suspicious PNRs until 28 February, 2026.
-  13,023 suspicious email domains have been blocked in the year 202526 until 28 February, 2026.

Further,  IRCTC  carries  out  continuous  monitoring  to  curb  fraudulent activities  by  analysing  booking  patterns  and  user  registrations  through comprehensive  data  analysis.  User  IDs  found  suspicious  during  such analysis  are  deactivated  as  a  preventive  measure.  A  grievance  redressal mechanism  is  available  on  the  IRCTC  website  and  mobile  application.

Requests received from users through their registered email ID and mobile number are examined in detail, and genuine user IDs are reactivated based on the outcome of such analysis. Taking steps to ensure transparency in booking of general as well as Tatkal tickets based on feedback received on various platforms is a continuous and ongoing process.

*****