New Delhi: From July 1, only those users who have certified their IRCTC account with Aadhaar will be able to book TATKAL tickets through their website and app. The Railway Ministry said on Wednesday that to make the process a more foolish-proof, the OTP for Aadhaar authentication will be introduced from July 15.The new criteria have been reported to examine misconduct by agents and ensure that only the actual passengers benefit from the Tatkal Scheme. The Ministry has urged people to ensure Aadhaar Linkease with their IRCTC user profiles to avoid inconvenience.Even to buy paper tickets on the railway ticket windows from July 15, passengers or their representatives have to provide a mobile number, on which an OTP will be sent for verification objectives.A senior railway official said, “Some provisions have also been made to ensure that bots (or other software means) are not able to book tickets faster than real users.”According to the notification, authorized ticketing agents will not be allowed to book opening-day tatal tickets during the first 30 minutes of the booking window, a step aimed at stopping bulk booking during this important period. “For AC classes, this ban will be applicable from 10 am to 10.30 am and non-AC classes, from 11 am to 11:30 am,” said this.About 2.2 lakh passengers book TATKAL tickets through IRCTC website and app daily. The analysis of the online tatal ticket booking pattern from May 24 to June 2 showed that 5,615 out of 1.1 lakh AC tickets were booked in the first minute after the window opening. Another 22,827 tickets were booked in the second minute.In non-AC category, about 1.2 lakh tickets per day were booked online. Of these, 4,724 tickets were booked in the first minute and 20,786 in the second minute.
