Suresh Khadakbhavi, CEO of Digi Yatra Foundation, addressed the audience at the Future Aviation Forum in Riyadh. In a fireside chat with Mark Barton "Trips Transformed – The Digi Yatra Story," Khadakbhavi, shared the remarkable journey and transformative impact of Digi Yatra, an industry-led digital initiative, spearheaded by Digi Yatra Foundation along with the Ministry of Civil Aviation in India.
Digi Yatra has revolutionised the air travel experience in India, ensuring a seamless, hassle-free, and health risk-free journey for all travelers. Here are the key highlights from the session:
· Digi Yatra has seen impressive adoption and expansion over the last year, with more than 20 million happy users experiencing the benefits of this seamless travel solution. Currently rolled out in 14 airports, Digi Yatra is set to be introduced in another 14 airports next month. Our focus is now expanding to international travel, starting with prototype testing on E-passport based enrollment, expected next month. There will be numerous deliberations that need to be done with various ministries and other stakeholders, which might take some time to conclude on the way forward.
· Digi Yatra is the largest exponent of the concept of Self-Sovereign Identity, across the world, SSI ensures that passenger data is not stored in any Central location. Digi Yatra leverages Hyperledger Aries to implement this technology, supporting not just identity credentials but any credential verification. Upcoming innovations include exploring advanced solutions like fully homomorphic encryption to further enhance data security and expand the application of Self-Sovereign Identity.
· Interoperability can be facilitated, and IATA's One ID aims to set the recommended practices and standards to digitalise the document checking processes using digital identity and verifiable credentials. Bilateral agreements between nations are crucial for enabling credential sharing to facilitate seamless travel across countries.
· At some Indian airports, close to 50% of passengers use Digi Yatra. In general, the adoption rates are around 30-40% at most of the bigger airports. We plan to scale further across more airports. Looking ahead, in the 10 years, we envision a single-process airport where passengers enter the airport and walk straight to the boarding gate, with all processes happening in the background. This future is achievable with the use of technology; however we need to change our perspective to fully utilise it.