New Delhi: In a move to boost security in the aviation sector, India plans to go in for an ambitious intelligent border management programme which would help detect entry of undesirable elements into the country well in advance.

As part of this process, some international firms have recently made presentations on improving security at airports and, at the same time, ensuring a hassle-free travel for non-risk passengers.

An Australia-based security firm made a presentation last week on the border management solutions for the Civil Aviation Ministry to enhance border security and speed up clearance through technology.

The presentation was attended among others by Civil Aviation Secretary K Roy Paul, Airports Authority of India Chairman S K Narula, Chairman and Managing Director of Indian Airlines Sunil Arora and senior officials from Intelligence Bureau and Immigration, sources in the Civil Aviation Ministry said.

Under the Intelligent Border Management system offered by the firm, retrieval of passenger data from multiple airline databases would be possible through pre-screening of passenger and their identification. The data would be delivered to the border control authorities prior to or at departure for risk assessment and clearance.

Civil Aviation Minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy has been keen on upgrading the security at the airports and the passengers.

The firm claimed that passenger data would be routinely collected at many stages of journey from multiple sources such as advanced passenger information, advanced passenger processing and the passenger name record.

Claiming that it had a long track record in working with major global airlines and visa systems, the company said the technology could capture and integrate this data from multiple sources to give border control authorities a complete view of intending and actual passengers entering or departing the country.

It said the Electronic Travel Authority (ETA), introduced in Australia in 1996, had led to a list of "through check" passengers who could be automatically allowed to enter or exit provided they had the ETA.

The system could provide early notification or risk assessment of the passenger, improved detection rate of potential high-risk persons, faster clearance for low risk ones and assist in fraud prevention, besides enabling the government to keep and maintain information which could improve security.

PTI