Under Digi Yatra, passengers’ data is stored in their own device and not in centralised storage, the government has clarified on Wednesday (16 March).

Digi Yatra is an initiative of Ministry of Civil Aviation for biometric boarding system using Facial Recognition Technology. It aims at providing seamless and hassle-free experience for passengers at airports.

The main objective of the initiative, according to the Civil Aviation Ministry, is to enhance passenger experience by eliminating the need for verification of ticket and ID at multiple touch points and to achieve better throughput through existing infrastructure using a digital framework.

"In the Digi Yatra process, there is no central storage of passenger's Personally Identifiable Information (PII) data," the Civil Aviation Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.

All the passengers’ data is encrypted and stored in the wallet of their smartphone, the ministry said.

The data is shared only between the passenger and the airport of travel origin, where passenger's Digi Yatra ID needs to be validated, it added.

"The data is purged from the airport’s system within 24 hours of departure of flight. The data is shared by passengers directly, only when they travel and only to the origin airport," the ministry said.

"The data cannot be used by any other entity since it's encrypted," it said, adding that this process is voluntary, and provides the convenience of smooth, hassle-free and health risk-free travel.

Earlier on Tuesday (15 March), replying to a Twitter user, Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia had also clarified that "passengers' personal information data is not stored in any central repository or by the Digi Yatra Foundation".

"The data is stored in the passenger's own phone in the Digi Yatra secure wallet. Rest assured, no data is being collected or stored," he added.