DailyPost 2531
DIGITAL PASSPORT
The Indian media has can uncanny knack of missing on the digital experiments which can be transformative and would immensely ease the way we live, work and travel. They would pick up when they are forced to. The milestones in the ChatGPT journey were never their concern. The task which OpenAI set out for and the arduous journey of the GPT was barely discussed. What GPT finally did is known to all. Some would have experienced, but all of us know for sure, how harrowing can it be, if one loses his passport, while on international travel. You would also have sometime thought what if passport / travel documents became fully digital and got operational in that manner, then what spin would it give our life and travel.
The passport clinging hands it the most common sight on the international travel circuit. By 2023, when everything has gone digital, more so after the Covid digital transformation experience, why not the passport? We were not the only ones who were thinking of it, the powers that be also thought of it and started acting with futurism in mind. EU Commission wished for a pilot project to be carried out on Digital Travel Credentials, DTC, by some member state, so that experiences in this field could be gathered, to work further in this area in a concrete manner. Finland’s decision to test digital travel documents, emanates out of this wish of the EU Commission.
Giving it a concrete shape, “the Finnish Border Guard has announced that Finns will be the first* in the world to test digital travel documents starting from August 28.” It applies to all Finns on Finnair’s flight from London, Manchester and Edinburgh, who would be able to test the digital travel documents. They would thus have the chance to go through the controls faster. The long period of waiting is likely to get drastically reduced. After voluntarily registering, they would be able to used digital document while traveling to and from Finland. The test period is until the end of February 2024.
The Finnish Border Guard notes; “DTC is a digital version of a physical passport and is equally reliable. It enables a smooth and fast border crossing without compromising safety.” During the test period the required information is likely to be gathered. Once that is done, the Commission has planned on presenting this proposal “implementation of the project in all other member states.” EU has been making waves since its inception in putting into action most innovative projects. This would be another revolutionary one. Funded by the commission, the project aims to make travel process easier for everyone. It would be the most elevating transformation, since the onset of the modern international travel. The spin-offs could be unimaginable.
MOSTLY PASSPORT WOULD BE THE LAST IMPORTANT DOCUMENT TO BE MADE DIGITALLY OPERATIONAL.
Sanjay Sahay
Have a nice evening.