Building the Identity Architecture for India with DigiYatra From cutting airport wait times to safeguarding user privacy and expanding into new identity-linked services, DigiYatra represents a shift in how India manages personal data and convenience.

DigiYatra is not just transforming air travel but also redefining the relationship between identity and convenience in India's growing aviation sector. Suresh Khadakbhavi, CEO of Digi Yatra Foundation, delivered a keynote that was both personal and visionary. His story began far from the polished floors of India's airports—in the long ration queues of his childhood in Mumbai.

"I come from that childhood experience," Khadakbhavi shared. "Every fifteen days, rations used to be available at the ration shop, and our neighbor would tell us kerosene, rice, and other essentials were in stock. We would rush to stand in line, carrying empty cans for the kerosene." Raised in a Mumbai suburb without electricity or gas, he learned early on the burden of waiting in line—a frustration that would later inspire the foundation of DigiYatra.

That sense of déjà vu returned when Khadakbhavi began traveling for work. The sight of endless airport queues, mirroring the ration lines of his youth, sparked a question: Why should travelers still face such inefficiency in an era of technological progress? "Even after a ten-hour flight, you'd land only to stand in an immigration queue for two more hours," he said. "That's something DigiYatra has solved—at least for domestic travelers."

DigiYatra's premise is simple yet powerful; use facial recognition technology to make air travel seamless. Khadakbhavi recalled a pivotal brainstorming session in 2015 at Bangalore Airport's Terminal 2. Asked to write a story envisioning the future of air travel, he imagined a passenger walking through every checkpoint without being stopped. "The idea was that my face is my boarding pass," he said. That vision became reality with DigiYatra.

Today, DigiYatra allows passengers to walk through airport checkpoints using facial recognition, eliminating the need for paper tickets and identity verification documents. It's already operational at major airports, including Bangalore and Delhi, and has processed over 45 million journeys in just over two years. More than 11 million users have enrolled through the DigiYatra app. The process begins with a one-time enrollment using Aadhaar for identity verification. After a selfie and facial match, the system creates a credential stored securely on the user's phone. On the day of travel, the boarding pass and credential are shared with the departure airport, allowing seamless access through security and boarding.

Khadakbhavi highlighted the broader impact on airport infrastructure and sustainability. Indian aviation is growing at 20–25 per cent annually. Expanding infrastructure the traditional way—by building larger terminals—would have been costly and unsustainable. "Instead of more buildings, we used technology to increase efficiency," he said. DigiYatra has reduced processing time so effectively that Khadakbhavi proudly shared his personal record: "The best I've done is five minutes from airport entry to the boarding area." Someone in the audience had done even better: "His wife managed it in four minutes."

But beyond convenience, DigiYatra's architecture is built around privacy and data security—an issue that Khadakbhavi repeatedly emphasized. "We don't know you," he said. Despite processing millions of identities, DigiYatra doesn't store personal data centrally. User credentials, including facial biometrics, are stored only on the user's phone. Verification happens using decentralized identifiers (DIDs) and verifiable credentials based on World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) standards. Every session generates a new DID, making it impossible to track passengers across multiple airports or locations.

This decentralized, privacy-by-design model reflects Khadakbhavi's deep concern for data security in an era of growing surveillance and data exploitation. "Even if you hack into your own phone and change parameters like a name or face, you wouldn't be able to travel because the proof value wouldn't match," he explained. Airports purge passenger data within 24 hours of travel, ensuring that personal information isn't stored or misused. Soon, passengers will receive notifications confirming that their data has been deleted—a further step toward transparency and control.

Khadakbhavi shared a story that illustrates DigiYatra's impact beyond airports. Wearing a DigiYatra-branded T-shirt on a flight, a fellow passenger recognized the logo and said, "You make our life easier." That moment reinforced DigiYatra's core mission: simplicity and ease. "That's our motto," Khadakbhavi said.

The future of DigiYatra extends far beyond airports. The next phase includes international travel integration through IATA's (International Air Transport Association) One ID framework, making DigiYatra the world's largest implementation of this system. The plan is to enable seamless, end-to-end international journeys where credentials are shared securely between departure and arrival airports. "If you're flying from Bangalore to Frankfurt, your identity would already be validated before you land," Khadakbhavi explained. "No more two-hour immigration lines."

DigiYatra is also expanding into other identity-dependent services. Hotel check-ins, for instance, could soon use DigiYatra instead of physical IDs. "Today, hotels take a photo of your Aadhaar or passport," Khadakbhavi said. "That's unencrypted data at risk. DigiYatra can eliminate that risk." Other potential use cases include events, office security, and loyalty programs. Using zero-knowledge-proof tokens, DigiYatra could allow users to share preferences and service requirements without revealing personal data.

Language accessibility is another frontier. Khadakbhavi acknowledged the need to reach beyond English-speaking users. "DigiYatra currently works in English, but why should that be a barrier?" The app is being tested in five Indian languages, including Kannada, with plans to expand to 22 languages using the government's Bhashini platform. A multilingual chatbot will soon provide real-time assistance.

Khadakbhavi's keynote closed with a nod to the larger regulatory landscape. India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act (DPDPA) is reshaping how companies handle user data. "Organizations handling customer data will be wary of penalties," he said. "DigiYatra offers a model where zero-knowledge-proof-based validation protects user privacy while delivering hyper-personalized services."

Suresh Khadakbhavi was speaking at the Entrepreneur India's Tech & Innovation Summit.