NEW DELHI: Union Home Minister and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah on Thursday virtually launched the Fast Track Immigration–Trusted Traveller Programme (FTI-TTP) at Lucknow, Thiruvananthapuram, Tiruchirappalli, Kozhikode, and Amritsar airports. Senior officers, namely the Union Home Secretary and the Director of the Intelligence Bureau, were present on the occasion.
Speaking on the occasion, Shah said the new facility not only enhances the convenience of travellers but also showcases India’s progress in modernising its infrastructure. He added that the programme embodies Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of “Speed, Scale, and Scope”, ensuring technology becomes a trust multiplier in public service delivery.
The minister emphasised that FTI-TTP provides smooth immigration clearance at the airport, cutting down wait times and eliminating the necessity of manual screening. Passengers utilising the facility can go through immigration in 30 seconds. Shah emphasised that to achieve maximum benefit, registration under the programme must be linked with the issuance of a passport and OCI card, saving passengers further documentation and fingerprinting procedures.
Emphasising the twin aim of convenience and security, Shah informed that the FTI-TTP enhances border management with enhanced passenger experience. The scheme, initiated in Delhi in 2024, has since been rolled out to Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Kochi, and Ahmedabad. With today’s addition, the facility is now in place at 13 airports, with plans to roll it out to future airports in Navi Mumbai and Jewar.
Shah revealed that nearly three lakh travellers have registered for the programme, of which 2.65 lakh have already used it. He urged efforts to further expand this user base so that both Indian citizens and OCI cardholders can benefit widely.
Placing the initiative in a broader context, Shah noted that international passenger traffic has risen sharply under Modi’s leadership. 3.54 crore Indian citizens visited overseas in 2014, which increased by 73 percent to 6.12 crore in 2024. Likewise, foreign tourists to India increased from 1.53 crore in 2014 to approximately 2 crore in 2024.