The central government is preparing to take stringent action against fraudulent IRCTC accounts. Following recent reforms in Tatkal ticket issuance, a drive has been launched to identify and deactivate suspicious user IDs. Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw informed the Lok Sabha that since January this year, 30.2 million dubious accounts have been deactivated. Anti-bot technologies like AKAMAI were employed to prevent attempts to create fake or automated accounts.
The minister highlighted that these measures aim to ensure genuine passengers have better access to general and Tatkal tickets. Steps have been taken to make the reservation system more transparent and efficient, including the phased introduction of an Aadhaar-based OTP verification system. Currently, the system has been implemented for 322 trains, resulting in a nearly 65% increase in Tatkal ticket availability.
Vaishnaw further stated that OTP verification for Tatkal bookings at reservation counters has been applied to 211 trains as of December 4. This initiative has improved ticket accessibility for 96 popular trains, increasing availability by up to 95%. The government said these measures will help curb automated bookings and ensure a fairer system for genuine travelers.