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The Indian Railways has introduced a new step for Tatkal bookings made at the reservation counters. Passengers will now have to verify an OTP sent to the mobile number they mentioned in the booking form. Without completing this step the ticket will not be issued. This change according to officials has been introduced mainly to stop agents from blocking Tatkal seats and to ensure that last-minute tickets actually reach genuine travellers. The system was rolled out on November 17. It began with a limited set of trains and has now been expanded to 52. Railways has said that the same process will become active for all other trains shortly. What has IRCTC done in the last few months? The Railways has been tightening rules around ticketing for a few months. Earlier in July OTP-based Aadhaar verification was introduced for online Tatkal tickets to limit misuse. Later from October 1 only Aadhaar-authenticated users were allowed to book reserved general tickets on the IRCTC website or app during the first 15 minutes of the opening window. How will the new bookings be done? When someone fills out a Tatkal form at the counter the staff will enter the details into the system. An OTP will then be automatically sent to the mobile number written on the form. The passenger must share this number with the booking clerk who will confirm it in the system. Only after this verification will the ticket be printed. Officials said this additional step is meant to make counter bookings more transparent and reduce the chances of bulk booking by touts or agents. They also believe it will make the process smoother for ordinary passengers as it prevents manipulation at the last minute.