New rule for instant ticket booking comes into effect from today, booking will be done only through Aadhaar OTP – relief to common people..

Indian Railways has taken a big step to make Tatkal Ticket Booking more transparent and secure. The new rule has come into effect from today i.e. 15th July 2025, after which Tatkal tickets can be booked only with Aadhaar OTP. The biggest benefit of this change will be for those common people who try to book train tickets every time but miss them due to the agents.

Now, OTP will come only on the mobile number linked to Aadhaar, and only then will ticket booking be done.
If you are thinking of booking Tatkal tickets from the IRCTC website or mobile app, then you must keep the mobile number linked to your Aadhaar card. OTP will come before booking the ticket, and booking will not be completed without entering the OTP. That is, now it will not be possible to book Tatkal tickets without Aadhaar authentication.

Big strictness on agents, ban on ticket booking for the first 30 minutes.

Railways has taken a big step against those agents who used to take possession of all the tickets every time the Tatkal booking (IRCTC Tatkal Booking Time) opened. Now agents will not be able to book tickets from 10:00 to 10:30 am for the AC class and from 11:00 to 11:30 am for the sleeper class. This time will now be only for common passengers, so that they will also get a chance to get confirmed tickets.

Linking Aadhaar to the IRCTC account is necessary.

If you have not yet linked your Aadhaar number to your IRCTC account, then do it immediately. Now, when you go to book a ticket, if your Aadhaar is not linked to your IRCTC account, the OTP process will not be completed, and your ticket booking may fail.

This rule came for the first time in Tatkal ticket booking.

Earlier, no OTP used to come while booking tickets. Agents used to book dozens of tickets in seconds through software. But now the Railways has made technical changes in its Passenger Reservation System (PRS), due to which Aadhaar OTP verification has become mandatory.

These rules will be applicable across the country.
This new system has been implemented in all the railway zones of India. Whether you are going from Delhi to Bangalore or Patna to Mumbai, now Tatkal tickets will be booked everywhere only with Aadhaar OTP.

Those booking tickets from the counter will also have to give their Aadhaar number.
If you go to the railway station and book tickets, then the change will be seen there too. At the time of booking from the counter, you will have to give your Aadhaar number and verify the OTP. The ticket will be booked only when the mobile number is linked to Aadhaar.

If Aadhaar is not linked, then the ticket will not be available
If your mobile number is not linked to your Aadhaar, then a Tatkal ticket cannot be booked. Therefore, Aadhaar and mobile must be linked to each other. Also, if you are booking a ticket for someone else, then their Aadhaar number and OTP will also be required.

At present, this rule is applicable only to Tatkal tickets. Railways has said that this new rule is only for Tatkal ticket booking. Aadhar is not required for general tickets or waiting list tickets right now. But in the coming time, the same process can be applied to tickets booked from the counter.

If there is any problem, contact us here
If you are not getting OTP, or there is a problem in linking Aadhaar, then you can call the IRCTC helpline 139 or the UIDAI helpline 1947. Also, help can be taken by visiting the reservation counter of the nearest railway station.

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