On the occasion of Passport Seva Divas, the External Affairs Minister of India (EAM), Subramaniam Jaishankar, said that India will soon embark on the second phase of the Passport Seva Programme which includes new and upgraded e-passports.
He called on the passport issuing authorities in India and abroad to join him in renewing the pledge to provide passport and related services to the people in a timely, reliable, accessible, transparent and effective manner.
“We will soon be embarking on the Passport Seva Programme Version 2.0, including new and upgraded e-passports,” Jaishankar said in his message at Passport Seva Kendra. He further stated that In line with the Prime minister’s Vision of enhancing passport services to citizens, these initiatives would usher in a new paradigm of EASE.
E stands for Enhanced passport services to the citizens using a digital eco-system, and A stands for Artificial Intelligence powered service delivery. S stands for Smooth overseas travel using chip-enabled e-passports, and E for Enhanced Data Security.
In his message, Jaishankar said, “I would like to call on all our passport issuing authorities in India and abroad to join me in renewing a pledge to provide passports and related services to citizens in a timely, reliable, accessible, transparent and efficient manner.
According to Jaishankar, it was a matter of pleasure to facilitate all passport-issuing authorities in India and abroad and their colleagues from the Central Passport Organisation on the occasion of the Passport Seva Divas 2023. He noted that this day is an occasion to take stock of what has been achieved and reaffirm India’s resolve to attain the highest standards in delivering passport services.
While sharing Jaishankar’s message on Twitter, the Ministry for External Affairs stated, “Here is a message from EAM chief Jaishankar as we observe the Passport Seva Divas today. The MEA team reaffirms its commitment to providing passport and related services to the citizens in a timely, efficient, accessible, transparent and reliable manner.
After the COVID Pandemic, the Ministry of External Affairs rose to address the surge in demand for passport-related services by increasing the number of daily appointments and organising special drives over the weekends. The Ministry had processed a record of 13.32 million passports and miscellaneous services in 2022, marking a 63 per cent rise from 2021.
In his message, he expressed happiness that the Passport Seva Programme has contributed significantly towards the Indian government’s goal of a Digital India. He spoke about the visits to Passport Seva Kendras in several states.
He noted that the other ministers and senior officials of the MEA had made similar visits. Continuing, he said, “These visits have enabled us to build congruence between policy and operational governance levels. There will be no slowing down of such efforts in the future as well.”
“The Passport Seva Programme (PSP) has significantly contributed to the government’s goal of Digital India with milestones such as the Passport Seva Mobile App, Passport Police App, integration of the Passport Seva Programme with Digilocker and the Apply from Anywhere scheme,” he said.
He further added: “While in 2014, there were 77 Passport Seva Kendras (PSK) in the country, this number has increased seven times and stands at 523 today In the context of POPSKS, I would like to acknowledge the role of the Department of Posts and state police as esteemed partners.”
The Ministry of External Affairs has declared that the Passport Seva Divas will be held annually on June 24. This is the day when in 1967 the Passport Act came into effect.
E-passports is an upgrade to traditional passport and is aimed at making secure and smooth passage through immigration posts globally. These e-passports will be embedded with a chip that will carry the passport holder’s biographical details and personal details.
The software for the e-Passport has been developed by the IIT Kanpur and the National Informatics Centre (NIC)
