New Delhi: The civil aviation ministry on Monday said data of passengers who use Digi Yatra are not shared with the Indian tax authorities. Earlier in the day, the I-T Department refuted reports that Digi Yatra data will be used to crack down on tax evaders.

Based on Facial Recognition Technology (FRT), Digi Yatra provides for contactless, seamless movement of passengers at various check points at airports.

The data shared by a passenger for Digi Yatra is stored in an encrypted format. To avail the service, a passenger has to register his or her details on the Digi Yatra app using Aadhaar-based validation and a self-image capture. In the next step, the boarding pass has to be scanned and the credentials are shared with the airport.

In a post on X, the ministry said there is no sharing of Digi Yatra passengers’ data with Indian tax authorities. “The Digi Yatra app follows the Self-Sovereign Identity (SSI) model, where Personally Identifiable Information (PII) and travel credentials are stored exclusively on the user’s device, not on any central repository. Furthermore, if a user uninstalls the Digi Yatra app, the data is deleted entirely,” the ministry said in a post on X.

The Ministry of Civil Aviation hereby clarifies that the recent media report concerning Digi Yatra is based on unfounded and inaccurate claims.

There is no sharing of Digi Yatra passengers data with Indian tax authorities. The Digi Yatra app follows the Self-Sovereign Identity…

— MoCA_GoI (@MoCA_GoI) December 30, 2024

Further, the ministry said airport systems automatically purge passenger data within 24 hours of the flight’s departure. The I-T Department, in a post on X, refuted reports which stated that Digi Yatra data will be used to crack down on tax evaders. “In this connection, it is clarified that as on date there is no such move by the @IncomeTaxIndia department,” it said.

Digi Yatra is managed by the Digi Yatra Foundation. Its shareholders are Airport Authority of India (AAI), Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL), Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL), Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL), Hyderabad International Airport Ltd (HIAL) and Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL).