New Delhi, Dec 11: To curb misuse and improve fairness, Aadhaar-based OTP verification for online Tatkal ticket booking is now operational in 322 trains, and due to this, the confirmed Tatkal ticket availability time has increased by about 65 per cent in these trains, the Parliament was informed on Thursday.

Aadhaar-based OTP for Tatkal bookings at reservation counters has also been introduced in a phased manner, now implemented in 211 trains (as of December 4). As a result, the confirmed Tatkal ticket availability time has increased in about 95 per cent of the 96 popular trains, Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw told the Lok Sabha in a written reply to a question.

The minister also informed that rigorous revalidation and verification of user accounts have been done.

“About 3.02 crore suspicious user IDs have been deactivated since January 2025. Anti-bot solutions such as AKAMAI are deployed to filter non-genuine users and ensure smooth booking for legitimate passengers,” he mentioned.

Complaints have also been filed on the National Cyber Crime Portal for suspiciously booked PNRs, the minister added.

Vaishnaw informed about the use of multiple protective layers such as network firewalls, intrusion prevention systems, application delivery controllers and web application firewalls, which safeguard the system against cyber threats.

The system is hosted in a dedicated, access-controlled data centre, secured through CCTV surveillance and end-to-end encryption. The data centre is certified under ISO 27001 Information Security Management System (ISMS) standards.

“To further strengthen its cyber security posture, RailTel Corporation of India Ltd. provides comprehensive cyber threat intelligence services, including take-down services, threat monitoring, deep and dark web surveillance and digital risk protection. These services offer proactive and actionable insights into emerging cyber threats and enable improved incident response,” said the minister.

Regular security audits of the reservation system are also carried out by CERT-In-empanelled Information Security Audit Agencies.

Moreover, internet traffic related to the ticketing system is continuously monitored by CERT-In and the National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre (NCIIPC) to detect and prevent cyberattacks.

Mumbai, Dec 10: IndiGo Chairman Vikram Singh Mehta on Wednesday said that the airline’s board will examine every aspect of the recent flight disruptions at the carrier.

In a video message, he also said that the board has decided to involve external technical experts to work with the management and help determine the root causes that led to the disruption.

“On December 3, an unexpected chain of events led to large-scale flight cancellations … Thousands of our passengers were left stranded … I know how much distress this has caused. I want to say very simply and very clearly, we are sorry,” Mehta said.

Since last week, IndiGo has cancelled thousands of flights nationwide after failing to plan for tighter safety regulations. The cancellations peaked on December 5 and have declined since. The airline on Tuesday said its operations have stabilised and were back to normal levels.

However, nearly 220 flights were cancelled at three major airports, including Delhi and Mumbai, on Wednesday.

“We did not meet your expectations during those days. And for that, we are truly, truly sorry,” he said.

Over the past week, there has been a lot of criticism, “some fair, some not,” Mehta said.

“The fair criticism is that the airline let you down. We owe answers to our customers, to our government, to our shareholders and, equally importantly, to our employees. We assure you that we will examine every aspect of what went wrong and we will learn from it,” he said.

The board has decided it will involve external technical experts to work with the management and help determine the root causes and ensure “corrective action” so that this level of disruption never occurs again, he stated.

He, however, said that there are some allegations like IndiGo engineering the crisis and “compromising safety” are “untrue”.

“IndiGo has followed the pilot fatigue (FDTL) rules as they came into effect. We operated under the new rules throughout… both in July and November. We did not attempt to bypass them, nor did we do anything that negatively impacted our unblemished track record of safety,” he said.

The disruptions of last week did not happen because of any “deliberate action”, Mehta said.

“They happened because of a combination of internal and unanticipated external events”, including minor technical glitches, scheduled changes linked to the start of the winter season, adverse weather conditions, increased congestion in the aviation system, and implementation of/ and operation under the updated Crew Rostering rules, Mehta said.

It is significant to note here that other Indian carriers also faced these “unanticipated external” events, but their operations remained largely unaffected.

“Clearly, this combination of events pushed our systems beyond their limits,” he stated.

The Board has been closely involved with this matter for many months, Mehta said, adding “both the Board and the Risk management committee have received relevant information from the management on the implementation of the rules.”

The crisis management team set up by the board has been meeting every day, he said.

“The company has erred. There is no denying this,” Mehta said.

Aviation regulator DGCA has decided to constitute an oversight team “in view of passenger inconvenience caused due to large-scale disruptions in the operations of IndiGo Airlines at various airports across the country”.

It has also summoned IndiGo Chief Executive Pieter Elbers to appear at its office on Thursday and submit a complete report, along with comprehensive data and updates, relating to the recent operational disruptions, according to a statement.

Jammu, Dec 11: Lieutenant Governor Shri Manoj Sinha on Thursday handed over appointment letters to 41 Next of Kins (NoKs) of victims of terrorism of Jammu Division.

Appointment letters were also handed over to 22 beneficiaries in Age relaxation cases and 19 wards of J&K Police martyrs under Compassionate Appointment Rules SRO-43 and Rehabilitation Assistance Scheme (RAS).

Earlier, on July 28, 2025, the Lieutenant Governor had handed over the appointment letters to 94 Next of Kins (NoKs) of terror victims from Jammu division. The move brings relief to 135 terror victim families from Jammu Division who were denied justice for decades.

The families of terror victims spoke out fearlessly, recounted decades of terror and hardship and exposed the Pakistan-sponsored terrorists and their local sympathizers.

In his address, the Lieutenant Governor paid homage to the civilian martyrs and shared the grief of the terror victim families.

“Terror victim families were left to struggle in silence for decades. Justice was denied to these families. The deep scars were never healed. Such families are now being recognized, respected and rehabilitated.

Jobs to real victims of terror and true martyrs reflect the commitment that the nation stands with them with concrete action,” the Lieutenant Governor said.

The Lieutenant Governor reiterated that it is his commitment to restore the dignity and economic security to those families, who paid the highest price.

“Our mission is to bring about the change in the lives of those families who were deliberately deprived of justice so that they can contribute in society’s all-round progress and nation building.

With the government job appointment letters to 41 terror victim families, 22 age relaxation cases and 19 wards of J&K Police martyrs, we have fulfilled our commitment,” the Lieutenant Governor said.

After a 20-year wait for relief, the suffering of Naseeb Singh and his family is finally over. The Lieutenant Governor narrated the heartrending incident of June 28, 2005, when Naseeb Singh’s father Dharam Singh and four others from Kotranka, Rajouri, were brutally killed by terrorists. For two decades, Naseeb Singh and his family were forced to live in misery, constant fear and insecurity. The dark days in their lives have ended. It is a new dawn of hope and dreams for the family, he said.

“Akhtar Hussain, a resident of Reasi, was shot dead by terrorists on July 13, 2005. His wife and children endured immense hardship for two decades. It had left a deep scar on the family.

On November 15, 2004, SPO Sanjeet Kumar was murdered along with his friend by two terrorists in Balan Tundwa, Kishtwar, while they were preparing for a neighbour’s wedding.

These families carried the weight of unspeakable grief. Now, this new beginning will allow them to rebuild their lives with dignity,” the Lieutenant Governor said.

The Lieutenant Governor said that under the leadership of Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and Hon’ble Home Minister Shri Amit Shah we are dismantling the entire terror ecosystem.

“We have not bought peace, but established peace. The days of misgovernance are over. Now terrorists, separatists and their patrons are not given government jobs but they are being identified and given the harshest punishment for their deeds,” the Lieutenant Governor said.

The Lieutenant Governor stated that there are certain elements from the dying terror ecosystem who are attempting to spread misinformation or negative narratives against the country. He warned that stringent action will be taken against such elements according to the country’s established legal framework.

“Those who are fanning separatism and threatening national unity will face the action as per the law,” he said.

The Lieutenant Governor also appealed to all sections of society to contribute to the Mahayagya of development in J&K with selfless action.

DGP, Shri Nalin Prabhat; Principal Secretary Home, Shri Chandraker Bharti; Commissioner Secretary, GAD Shri M Raju; Divisional Commissioner Jammu, Shri Ramesh Kumar; IGP Jammu, Shri Bhim Sen Tuti, Deputy Commissioners of various districts, senior officials and family members of victims of terrorism were present.

Hon’ble Members of Legislative Assembly, and members of various social organisations were also present.