The Indian Bureau of Immigration has decided to permanently discontinue the stamping of boarding passes at immigration counters for passengers travelling abroad through all international airports in India from September 1.
Under the new system, passengers will be able to complete immigration and emigration procedures using electronic boarding passes on their mobile phones.
The decision has been taken to reduce delays caused by the existing stamping procedure and address problems that can arise when boarding passes become difficult to read because of improperly applied stamps.
Passengers who present printed boarding passes will also be allowed to travel, but immigration officials will no longer stamp them.
The Central Industrial Security Force had already discontinued the practice of stamping boarding passes during passenger screening at airport premises several years ago.
Officials also said a pilot project is currently underway to eliminate entry and exit stamps on foreign passports for Indian passport holders at airports.
