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The Indian Railways has issued new rules for ticket booking. Under the Tatkal Scheme, users will have to do Aadhaar verification using OTP, according to an official statement by the Ministry of Railways.

As per the new rules, from July 1, 2025, Tatkal tickets can be booked through the IRCTC website or its app only by Aadhaar-authenticated users. From July 15, 2025, the Aadhaar-based OTP authentication shall also be made compulsory for the Tatkal booking.

Railways said that users will be able to book Tatkal tickets through any PRS counter or agent of Indian Railways only when an OTP generated by the system is given. This OTP will be sent to the user's registered mobile number at the time of booking. This OTP will be mandatory for Tatkal booking after July 15.

To prevent bulk bookings during the critical opening period, authorised ticketing agents of Indian Railways will not be permitted to book opening-day Tatkal tickets during the first 30 minutes of the booking window. According to the rules, Tatkal booking for AC category trains starts at 10 AM every day, whereas Tatkal ticket booking for sleeper class trains starts at 11 AM every morning.

These changes are being implemented to improve transparency in Tatkal bookings and to ensure that the benefits of the scheme reach genuine end users, the statement said.

The CRIS (Centre for Railway Information Services) and IRCTC have been instructed to make necessary system modifications and inform all Zonal Railways and departments concerned accordingly.

The Ministry of Railways has urged all passengers to take note of these changes and asked everyone to ensure Aadhaar linkage with their IRCTC user profiles to avoid inconvenience.

The steps are being implemented with an aim to ensure fair and transparent access to Tatkal tickets and to safeguard the interests of genuine passengers. The changes will enhance user authentication and reduce misuse of the scheme, the statement added.

Indian Railways had cracked down on misuse of Tatkal bookings and identified and deactivated 2.5 crore fake IDs and flagged another 20 lakh for revalidation. Some of these accounts were found to be using disposable email addresses, which were being used to hoard tickets and sell them at inflated prices. IRCTC is utilising AI-driven tools to monitor and detect bot activity, which was being used by touts to book tickets in bulk and then make genuine travellers pay huge amounts for the tickets.

With inputs from agencies

Also Read: Cabinet approves two railway projects worth Rs 6,405 crore across 7 districts in India

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