Wipro to make this Aadhaar-based technology for government

The centre has asked IT major Wipro to develop a blueprint for Aadhaar-based biometric access to flyers at all airports across India. Wipro is expected to give the report by early May and then airports will begin the process of a passenger’s thumb being all the identification he or she requires to fly, for domestic flights as international ones will need passports.
The aviation ministry had been toying with the idea of linking Aadhaar numbers to air travel bookings and then enabling biometric access possible at airports. The push towards taking a concrete step in this direction came at a recent meeting of various airport operators and airlines with aviation minister Jayant Sinha and aviation secretary R N Choubey.
“It was felt a joint system be developed that can be replicated by all airports. Wipro has been asked to develop a concept note in this regard after consulting all stakeholders, including the JV airport operators. We are seeing what all airport processes can be made e-enabled,” Airports Authority of India (AAI) chairman Guruprasad Mohapatra told TOI.
The idea, AAI chief, said is that passengers give their Aadhaar numbers at the time of booking tickets. “Once they reach the airport they are flying out of, flyers can just keep their thumb on touch pad at entry point and establish their identity (instead of showing an I card).Once inside, a similar process can be repeated at other places like check-in. We want passengers to have as seamless and effortless travel experience at airports as possible,” Mohapatra said.
Due to security considerations, flyers in India have to show an I card along with their tickets to be allowed inside airport terminals. In the west, one can just walk inside a terminal without any such requirement. “Our security considerations are paramount and cannot be compromised. However, we can always make it easier for people to meet those requirements through an increased use of technology,” said an official.
Faster processing at air ports is not just a matter of convenience but is important to cut processing time to cut queues. India is witnessing the world’s fastest growth in domestic aviation. However, physical infrastructure is not keeping pace with the explosive demand that is leading to queues everywhere at big airports – right from the time one approaches the terminals buildings, to entering the same, at check-in and for security.