Summary: The introduction of a new software has simplified the passport application process in the country, according to Regional Passport Officer, Mumbai Swati Kulkarni. "Online appointment system has helped in managing passport applications in a scientific manner," Kulkarni said. She was speaking at a seminar held here last evening to allay the misconceptions about obtaining passport. The Regional Passport Officers of Mumbai and Thane, backed by the technology service provider TCS, explained the new initiatives for issuing passports, at the interactive seminar organized by the MoneyLife Foundation.
Introduction of biometric finger prints and system- captured photographs have helped promote transparency in the issue of passports, she said. There are 78 Passport Seva Kendras in operation across India, Kulkarni said, adding, the Minister for External Affairs Sushma Swaraj wants passport service centres to be established even at the district level. Thane RPO T D Sharma said lack of documentation is one of the primary reasons for delay in issuance of passports. Many applicants still do not attach appropriate documents, he said, adding, online tracking facility helps in knowing at which stage the passport process is in.
Tanmoy Chakraborty of TCS explained the software system which is being used for issuance of passports and the benefits it has provided to the citizens. Obtaining an Indian passport under the new system has become painless and there is no need to depend upon an agent, he said. As internet penetration in the country is increasing rapidly, many government services are also going online, promising to provide services at the click of the mouse. Applying for and obtaining an Indian passport is still considered by many as a complex job.
Many people still sweat over minor details to be filled in the form and what documents to attach. In India, three kinds of passports are issued to citizens - Personal or Regular Passport, Official Passport and Diplomatic Passport. The Consular, Passport and Visa Division of the Ministry of External Affairs is responsible for issuing Indian passports on demand to all eligible Indian citizens. The Passport Office website gives all the information about obtaining passport in the form of Frequently Asked Questions. It also provides for online as well as offline submission of application forms.

Summary: Having an Aadhaar card is not going to be a pre-requisite to applying for a passport, at least not in near future. The government on Wednesday clarified that it was not considering making submission of Aadhaar cards mandatory for applying for passports. It also made it clear that no proposal was being considered for waiving of the requirement of police verification for issuance of passports.
"There is no proposal to discontinue police verification for issuing of passports by making submission of Aadhaar cards mandatory," V K Singh, minister of state (external affairs), informed in his written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha. The Bharatiya Janata Party earlier had reservation about the erstwhile United Progressive Alliance Government's ambitious scheme to issue each citizen a unique identification number. But, after the Lok Sabha elections in April-May this year, the new BJP-led government, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, did not discontinue the scheme and rather gave a boost to it.
The new government moved ahead to implement the previous regime's plan to link the Aadhaar card numbers with several schemes, including Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme and National Social Assistance Programme as well as for providing subsidy on cooking gas. This triggered speculation about the NDA government's imminent plan to waive the requirement of police verification for grant of passports by making it mandatory for all applicants to submit their Aadhaar cards. The speculations were followed by questions if the government was getting around the Supreme Court's orders on Aadhaar cards.
Observing that Aadhaar cards should not be insisted upon to provide citizens benefits of the government schemes, the apex court had earlier asked the government to withdraw all orders issued earlier making it mandatory to have the unique IDs

Summary: In 2014, 25 passport adalats were organized by the Regional passport office in Chandigarh where in 15000 pending passport applications.

Summary: Joint Secretary (PSP) & Chief Passport Officer, Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, Muktesh K Pardeshi (IFS) Monday said Nagaland would soon have a passport office opened in Dimapur acknowledging the state's need to have one. The CPO disclosed this while speaking to DIPR on the sidelines of a cultural function of the Hornbill Festival. Pardeshi said Nagaland has attained 50 years of statehood and deserved a passport office for the convenience and benefit of the public. This, he said would be another dream come true for the people of Nagaland as they would no longer go through the ordeal of going up to Guwahati several times for obtaining a passport.
Pardeshi also complimented the state government for providing the space for running the office and appealed to the people of Nagaland to take advantage of the facilities provided by the government. CPC informed that the two-day passport camp held at Kohima benefited over 300 people. If all the required documents are produced by the applicant the entire procedure would take just 4 to 6 weeks, he said. Pardeshi was one of the honoured guests during the cultural programme of the Hornbill Festival on Monday.
DIPR report said that he was "impressed and thrilled" to see the cultural activities of the Nagas. "It was more than what I anticipated", he expressed. Pardeshi was accompanied by T. Ajungla Jamir (IFS), Regional Passport Officer, Guwahati.

Summary: Seventy-three passports were granted by the regional passport office (RPO) at the first 'special passport adalat' held at Umara on Saturday. A total of 101 applicants, who travelled abroad and came back to India on emergency certificates due to losing passports, overstay, invalid travel documents or some other reasons, had turned up at the adalat. Their cases were decided on the spot under the supervision of passport officer Kumar Nityanand.

Summary: To expedite the application process in view of the high demand for passports, a 'Passport Mela' was organised on Saturday from 9.30 am to 4.30 pm at the three Passport Seva Kendra's (PSK) of Lalbagh, Sai Arcade (Bengaluru) and Mangaluru. As many as 2,600 appointment slots were made available on December 4 to register for the Passport Mela. Of these, 2200 appointments were in the normal category for PSKs in Lalbagh, Sai Arcade and Mangaluru, while there were 400 Tatkal appointments for Lalbagh Road PSK and Sai Arcade PSK.
Applicants were asked to register online for the Mela on the passport portal www.passportindia.gov.in. A number of other assertive steps such as conducting passport camps at the district headquarters of Karwar, Mysuru, & Belagavi; elongated appointment cycle, incentivising police to submit verification reports within 21 days, increasing daily appointment slots, launch of mPassportSeva App on Windows and Apple platforms and premium SMS service (optional) were taken by the authorities to make the passport application process hassle-free for citizens.
Applicants under the normal and Tatkaal category were allowed to apply at the Mela on prior appointment basis, while walk-ins, including on-hold and refused tokens of previous three working days (T+3 facility), were not entertained. Applicants can easily keep track of their passport applications by checking the status online using their file number and date of birth on the passport seva portal. The initiative was well-received as External Affairs Ministry officials and PSK employees assisted applicants by working extra hours.
Feedback: Feedback from the applicants showed very high satisfaction with the state-of-the-art infrastructure, technology upgrades to speed-up processes and improved amenities that ensured timely processing of the applications. The Regional Passport Office, Bengaluru, has been conducting Passport Melas from time to time to ease the rush for passport services in the State.

Summary: The regional passport office on Saturday organized a passport mela in dehradun to expedite document verification and biometric testing processes for applicants. Around 485 appointments were issued for the purpose, of which 34 were rescheduled.

Summary: The number of daily appointments available for 'normal category' passport seekers has been increased by 50 slots to 1,000, a press release by the Regional Passport Office (RPO) stated. This is the second increase announced by the RPO in the last fortnight. More slots have been introduced for the convenience of citizens, the press release said, adding that it would be accessible to all normal category passport applicants under the jurisdiction of the Pune RPO, including Pune, Satara, Kolhapur, Sangli, Ahmednagar and Solapur.
Atul Gotsurve, Regional Passport Officer of Pune division, said: "This has been done to bring down the appointment cycle to not more than 30 days. I am also trying to improve the overall operational efficiency and may add even more slots in days to come." With this increase in the number of appointment slots, the total processing capacity of the Passport Seva Kendra in Mundhwa has increased to 1,335, including 160 under tatkal. PCC applicants now need prior appointment.
Those seeking a police clearance certificate (PCC) from the Passport Seva Kendra in Mundhwa will now be required to take an online appointment on its website, a notification issued by the Regional Passport Office stated. Walk-ins for PCC have been stopped with immediate effect in an attempt to improve the efficiency of the PSK, the notice said, adding that applicants who have a slotted appointment are expected to reach the PSK at the specified date and time along with a print-out of the application reference number (ARN) sheet and relevant set of documents. "PCC should be collected from PSK, Mundhwa, only from 9am to 10.30am," it said.
The change has been done to curb over-crowding at the PSK during peak hours, said Regional Passport Officer Atul Gotsurve. "Earlier PCC seekers used to reach the PSK under the walk-in category causing overcrowding. With this latest change, we will be able to keep a tab on the number of expected applicants," he said. Twenty five slots have been reserved for the PCC seekers in the daily appointment cycle. "We normally have 15-20 such applicants every day, but we have kept a margin for rush days and reserved 25 slots for them," Gotsurve said.

Summary: Viman Nagar Police Station held a special passport verification camp on 30th November from 10 am - 5 pm. The camp got a positive response and 150 verifications were completed. The applicants have requested to hold more such camps.

Summary: Police, TCS contemplate providing scanners to police stations to cut through time taken to send and upload hard copies for PVRs
For a while now, the much-touted 'online' passport system is yet to become 100 per cent digital, as local police stations still send hard copies of applicants' documents after verification to police headquarters for further processing.
Now, police officials and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), which operates the online passport project, are contemplating making some changes in the system as well as providing equipments like scanners to police stations to cut through time taken in sending and uploading hard copies.
Pune is the first to host this experiment - around 4,500 applications are pending verifications at police stations across the city.
A meeting in this regard was held on Thursday at the police commissioner's office, attended by deputy commissioner of police (foreigners' registration office and special branch II) Sanjay Patil and Chandrakant Silveni, head of TCS's Passport Seva Project (Maharashtra & Goa). The matter has also been discussed with Pune regional passport officer Atul Gotsurve.
Pune city police handle more than 15,000 passport applications every month and have adopted the district police headquarters (DPH) model for speedy disposal of police verification reports (PVR). In this model, passport applications received by the Passport Seva Kendra (PSK) are transferred electronically to police headquarters of an applicant's city of residence, then segregated and further moved through the online route to police stations concerned. After on-ground verification of applicant's furnished particulars is done, the PVR is sent back to the police headquarters, then forwarded to the Regional Passport Office (RPO) for further processing. In Pune city, DCP (FRO) forwards the PVR to the RPO with his recommendation on whether or not to issue the passport. As per schedule, this process must be completed within 21 days.
Patil told Mirror, "We send over 500 applications daily to the city's 35 police stations. After on-ground verification, local police fill applicants' details online and send hard copies of documents with applicants' and police inspectors' signatures. At present, till we receive hard copies of documents, we are not sure as to which application has been verified by local police. Local police take some time to send hard copies, resulting in delay. Therefore, we suggested that in the online system, there should be an option to view details of applicants whose PVR has been completed by local police, as also a dashboard to show police station-wise details of completed PVRs. Officials concerned have been apprised and they are confident that such changes can be made in the system."
At the police station, officers believe that if equipments are made available, it will make things easier. "A proposal to provide advance scanners -each costing around Rs 8,500 - to every police station, is pending. Once this machine is available, every document will be uploaded at the police station itself. Applicants and the inspector in-charge of any police station can sign digitally. At present, we send documents to the police commissioner's office, where they are scanned and uploaded on the website," a police inspector told Mirror.
Silveni refused to comment, saying the regional passport officer is the right person to comment. "Pune RPO covers six districts - Pune, Satara, Sangli, Ahmednagar, Kolhapur and Solapur. The DPH model is currently functional in Pune and Satara. In the next two months, Kolhapur and Solapur will also adopt it. As far as changes in the system are concerned, they are being made for more efficiency," Gotsurve told Mirror.

Summary: In order to improve services, Regional Passport Office, Pune, has decided to increase the availability of normal appointments slots by 50 from 900 to 950 daily. This will be applicable from December1. According to the release issued by the office, the tatkal appointment slots were also increased by 45 percent from 110 to 160 daily in September. The authorities said that these steps would help many passport applicants in Pune, Satara, Sangli, Kolhapur, Solapur and Ahmednagar.

Summary: Passport seekers can now look forward to getting an appointment sooner than usual with the Regional Passport Office claiming a reduction in the average appointment cycle to just 38-42 days from the earlier 60-day cycle. With targeted initiatives like passport camps and melas, the RPO is looking to reduce the cycle even further to approximately 30 days over the next few weeks. Applicants seeking an appointment at the Passport Seva Kendra (PSK) in Mundhwa under the Normal category can secure one for approximately the 38th day, compared to an earlier waiting time of two months.
Atul Gotsurve, regional passport officer, counts it as a major accomplishment. "We are very happy that we have been able to reduce the waiting time for passport appointments to just 38-42 days. Getting an appointment is all about bridging the gap between demand and supply. We regularly hold passport camps and passport melas in Pune and other districts under the jurisdiction. Apart from two camps, which will be held on November 29 at Pune and Solapur, we are planning to conduct another one at Ahmednagar district in the coming weeks. I want to bring down the cycle to just about 30 days and I hope to achieve this within the next one month," he said.
Inability to secure an appointment at the PSK in Mundhwa has been a long-standing issue, with many complaining of problems in securing an appointment on their own. Increasing the total quota of appointments is also on the cards to further ease the burden. "We are considering increasing the number of appointments for the Normal category by a hundred or so. We will finalize all modalities and make an announcement," Gotsurve said.
Among the other improvements in the passport experience, a permanent toilet has also been made outside the PSK. It replaces the mobile toilet which had been set up earlier.

Summary: Saligramam Passport Seva Kendra has a mini library for visitors. The writer checks out some of the 500 titles on display. Waiting at the Saligramam Passport Seva Kendra can be a wholesome experience, one that is filled with the joy of learning. Inside the waiting room of the passport office, a library now keeps visitors company. To promote the reading habit and at the same time make the service at the passport office customer-friendly, the Education Secretary had proposed the establishment of mini libraries at the Seva Kendras in the city.
The first such library has been functioning at the Saligramam office, where books are kept in a glass case. The books are the property of the LLA branch library at Gugan Street in Kodambakkam. The librarian visits the office for routine checks and also updates the collection of books. "We have provided some 500 books to the passport office at the waiting room," says the librarian. Of them, 350 are mixed genre books such as history, literature and science. And 150 are travel and tourism and children's books. All the books are in Tamil expect the children's books, which are in English.
Those visiting the passport office are expected to help themselves to the books and put them back before leaving the office."We don't have sufficient manpower at the passport office to employ someone to manage the book shelf. The key has been left with the security at the office, who issues a book only on request by a customer, "she adds. She says it is difficult to run a proper library inside as people are always on the move.

Summary: Dinesh Hegde and Chirag, both private company employees, were lucky to be slotted in the first-of-its-kind Passport Seva Camp which is under way in Mysuru. The duo got an appointment on the very first day of the two-day camp on Saturday. Their appointments made both of them enroll for a passport for their relatives without hassles and expenditure. "Having a passport office in Mysuru will help people in five districts of south Karnataka," says Dinesh, a bank employee.
He booked an appointment online and completed the process for passport for his daughter at Mysuru zilla panchayat office, where the camp is on. Dinesh said travelling to Bengaluru to apply for passports will burn a hole in his pocket. "One needs to spend a minimum of Rs 2,500 for food, travelling and hotel stay in the capital to apply for passports. This (holding a passport camp) is a good initiative and must be done at regular intervals until a permanent passport centre comes up. Kerala, despite being a smaller state than Karnataka, has over dozen passport centres.
Our state has just four," he rued. While Bengaluru has two Passport Seva Kendras, Mangaluru and Hubballi have one each. Chirag was one among the 300 people slotted for enrollment of passport from old Mysuru region. His businessman-father Dinesh Kumar completed the formalities at the camp being conducted by the ministry of external affairs (MEA). Another applicant, on condition of anonymity, said that the officers manning the camp were helpful and gave them a chance to correct errors in documents. "At Bengaluru passport offices, officers straightaway reject the application, and ask us to apply afresh if they find any mistakes in applications," he added. Bengaluru passport office superintendent Preethi told STOI that nearly 300 have been slotted at the camp (150 each day).
"We have also enrolled some direct applicants," she added. At the inauguration, regional passport officer P S Karthigeyan said that the response to the camp is good. Meanwhile, the ministry is working to ensure that passports are delivered within four weeks after the receipt of application. The proposal to have a passport centre in Mysuru is also under consideration, officers said. DC C Shikha was present.

Summary: External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj on Friday said India is the third-largest passport issuing country in the world after China and the US. "The country accounts for 14% passport issuance in the world, with over 5.7 crore passport-holders," Sushma said, while inaugurating a Passport Seva Kendra (PSK) here. She gave a recorded speech as her helicopter could not land in the city due to inclement weather.
While Guwahati has a PSK, Aizawl has a mini PSK. The government is planning to set up mini PSKs in Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Nagaland and Sikkim by early 2015, she added. With Swaraj being unable to land, Meghalaya chief minister Mukul Sangma inaugurated the PSK at Lower Lachumiere here. The passport office will spare people from having to go to Guwahati to get their passports.
"The opening of the office is significant as it coincides with the 125th birth anniversary of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru," Mukul said.

Summary: Claiming as a misconception the view that getting a passport was "cumbersome", the Regional Passport Officer (RPO) has said procedures for issue and renewal of passports has been made hassle-free and the application cycle has come down from 60 days to 40 days. RPO has urged people not to fall into traps of touts and end up paying more money.
"For a normal application, the appointment cycle has been shortened. Earlier, those applying for passport under normal quota had to wait for at least 60 days for an appointment. We have brought it down to 40 days. The procedure of dispatch pf passport post police verification has been quickened. We dispatch a passport within one to three days of positive police verification," said Atul Gotsurve at the idea Exchange at The Indian Express office. He said those who apply under tatkal scheme get it within even a week.
" In the last few years, the Ministry of External Affairs has changes everything. The application has been made online. Pune Passport Seva Kendra, Mundhwa has increased tatkal quota to accommodate as many applicants as possible per day. Police verification has been made quicker and convenient. Several gateways for addressing grievances has been opened," said Gotsurve.
He said success rate of application - number of applicants getting a passport - -was a high of 80 to 85 percent. "Every day, 1200 applications are submitted at PSK, Mundhwa (normal & tatkal) of these only 15-20 percent get rejected for reasons such as legal issues caused by divorce, suppression of facts, lacunae in documentation, "he said.
Most grievances, claimed Gotsurve, were due to lack of information among applicants and they unnecessarily pay large sums to touts. "Contrary to popular misconception, it's not a must to submit 'Verification Letter from a Central Service officer or a competent officer'(Annexure F) in case of tatkal application. If they submit the certificate, there will be a post issue police verification. If they don't, police verification will happen before issuing the passport. An applicant needs to submit only 3 out of 16 documents. This can only delay issuance by three-four days, "said the RPO.
The RPO said MEA was providing several channels to address grievances and an applicant could choose one of them to get things cleared. "To seek passport-related information, the applicant can use our passport portal, dial the national call center (1800-258-1800) number, send an email to rpo.pune@mea.gov.in or use SMS alert(by paying a one-time fee of Rs. 30). The latest addition to this is our mPassport Seva, a mobile app to track application status, "he said.

Summary: Government is planning to make Aadhaar mandatory for issue of passports and is in the process of establishing a system for validation of criminal antecedents of the applicant. The issue was discussed threadbare at a meeting between the Ministries of the Home and the External Affairs, official sources said today.
The MEA is working with the Unique Identification Authority of India to implement it and the process is expected to be completed by the end of this month. In the new process, the applicant, if not in possession of an Aadhaar card, has to produce the Aadhaar enrolment number. The move has been taken up as per the directive of Prime Minister Narendra Modi who has favoured faster passport services in a transparent and simplified manner to the citizens.
A number of complaints are being received regularly by the government related to police verification for passports and consequent delay in issuance of the travel document.
The MEA had a meeting with the National Crime Record Bureau, under the Home Ministry, and the latter confirmed that they will be able to establish a system for validation of criminal antecedents of the applicant.
"NCRB has confirmed that they will be able to set up the validation mechanism within two months. Once this is established, the criminal antecedents of the applicants for all categories will be validated on NCRB database before passport issuance," an official note prepared on the issue said. The MEA is of the view that when an applicant already has an Aadhaar card or has applied for, his identity to a major extent is established -- this needs to be confirmed by UIDAI. Therefore, based on NCRB validation and the applicant's self declaration on the aspects of citizenship, criminal antecedents, criminal proceedings, summons/ warrants etc. the passport can be issued on post-police verification basis.
While granting the passport, the applicant will also be given the address of police station which is responsible for the police verification so that the applicant can also actively pursue and complete the process of verification before travelling abroad. "In the event of any wrong declaration by the applicant, the passport will be impounded/ revoked as per specified procedure," the note said.
Though all the applicants in their passport application forms specifically declare information relating to their nationality, criminal antecedents, pendency of court proceedings, warrants/ summons etc. over a period of time, the government agencies, institute the police verification mechanism to verify the provisions that have been referred in the Passport Act. The present practice is that police verification is required for issue of fresh passports if the applicant does not apply under the Tatkal category.
For the Tatkal category, additional documents, including verification certificate, are required. Also, in the case of re-issue passports, passports are issued without reference to the police, based on the self declaration of the applicants. After the receipt of police verification reports, passports are issued within a week. Passports are also issued within a week of application in respect of minor applicants, re-issue cases, Tatkaal etc. in which police verification is not required or is done on post-verification basis.
The move came after a U-turn by the Home Ministry from its earlier stand and coming out in full support of Aadhaar scheme saying it will facilitate "anytime, anywhere, anyhow" authentication to its beneficiaries. In a letter to all state governments, the Home Ministry had last month said that since one Aadhaar number is allotted only to one person, it allows universal verification of one's identity.
"Since Aadhaar is based on the demographic and biometric information of an individual, it eliminates the threat of any fraud and bogus activity.
"Aadhaar will provide its possessor with universal identification. (It) will facilitate 'anytime, anywhere, anyhow' authentication to its beneficiaries (and) be a single source of identity verification," the Home Ministry had said.
During the UPA regime, the Home Ministry had raised concerns over the sanctity of the the Unique Identification Authority of India's database, saying uniqueness of identity was not a necessary condition for ensuring authenticity of identity or genuineness of other entries or records of Aadhaar numbers. The ministry had also flagged concerns over supporting documents submitted by people as proof of identity and proof of address for getting an Aadhaar number

Summary: The Tiruchi Regional Passport Office has announced that passport applicants from the eight districts under its jurisdiction can now choose to appear at either of the Passport Seva Kendras (PSKs) at Tiruchi or Thanjavur after filing applications online, depending on availability of appointment slots.
The move is aimed at easing the congestion and problems in obtaining online appointments for personal appearance at the PSKs. Till now, applicants from Tiruchi, Karur, Perambalur and Pudukottai districts were required to appear for personal appearance at the Tiruchi PSK and those from Thanjavur, Ariyalur, Tiruvarur and Nagapattinam at the Thanjavur PSK.
The restriction has now been done away with.
Applicants can choose to appear in any of the PSK, wherever appointments are available. Speaking toThe Hindu, Regional Passport Officer K. Balamurugan said that the move was intended to ease congestion and allow applicants to appear where appointments were available early.
Currently, appointment slots are available for personal appearance at the Tiruchi PSK only after five to seven days whereas in Thanjavur PSK slots were available the very next day (on registration of application), he said.
Re-issue of passports
Mr. Balamurugan also disclosed that applications seeking re-issue of passports, within three years of expiry, would be processed on a par with tatkal applications. Such applicants would be issued passports within four to five working days without police verification, even if there was a change in address.
Conditions apply
However, this would be subject to condition that there was no adverse record with respect to the previous passport, which should be submitted without any damage. In case of change of address, proper address proof will be required.
The Regional Passport Office has also opened Facebook and Twitter accounts (Regional Passport Office, Trichy) to enable persons, especially those living abroad, to raise queries or give suggestions.

Summary: Passport applicants can now check the appointment availability status at their local Passport Seva Kendra(PSK) without logging into their accounts on the Passport Seva website with the help of a new feature introduce to save time & hassle for aspirants and to reduce the concurrent visitor load on the website.
The newly added feature on the Passport website, called 'Appointment Availability Status' allow appointments seekers to check the earliest available appointment for a Normal / Tatkal passport and also for a Police Clearance Certificate(PCCs) at their local PSK without having to first create an account and upload data and documents. With this facility, aspirants also need not wait till 12 PM every day to see the appointment status and to apply for one.

Summary: Since Oct 10, that's the SMS going out to applicants on same day their PVR reaches a local PS, in police effort to streamline process. As part of a slew of efforts to streamline the passport application process, the Pune police commissionerate has now started sending SMSes to passport applicants on the same day that an application is sent to their local police station to keep them informed and avoid inconveniencing them.
The new initiative began on October 10. Pune police have about 8,000 police verification reports (PVR) pending with various police stations and handles approximately 15,000 passport applications every month.
Earlier, whenever people checked the status of their PVR on the passport office website, it showed that the application is pending verification with the office of the commissioner of police. This led to several members of the public calling on senior police officers, including commissioner of police Satish Mathur,for enquiries.
Deputy commissioner of police (Special Branch II & Foreigners Registration Office), Sanjay Patil, told Mirror, "Every day, we send 500 SMSes to passport applicants to avoid inconveniencing them. People used to flock to the CP's office to make enquiries related to their PVRs - this was unnecessary, as verification is done by the local police station under whose jurisdiction the applicant resides. Now, we are informing them that their application has been sent to the concerned PS. In over 90 per cent of the cases, applicants have filled in the correct name of the police station; in the remaining cases, there is some confusion regarding jurisdiction."
Pune police have adopted the district police headquarters (DPH) model for speedy disposal of PVRs. In this system, passport applications received by the Passport Seva Kendra (PSK) are transferred electronically to the police headquarters of the applicant's city of residence. Applications are segregated and further moved through the online route to the police stations concerned. After on-ground verification of the applicant's furnished particulars is completed, the PVR is sent back to the police headquarters. It is then forwarded to the Regional Passport Office (RPO) for further processing. In the city, the DCP (Special Branch II & Foreigners Registration Office) forwards the PVR to the RPO with his recommendation on whether or not to issue the passport. Going by schedule, this process must be completed within 21 days. Every day, we send 500 SMSes to passport applicants to avoid inconveniencing them. People used to flock to the CP's office to make enquiries related to their PVR.

Summary: In an effort to make passport issuance hassle-free, External Affairs Ministry will hold camps across the country beginning tomorrow so that people residing in far away places can get the document. "External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has approved a country-wide Passport Seva Camp programme commencing October 18. It is yet another citizen-centric measure taken by the Ministry in extending public services closer home," the Ministry of External Affairs said.
Currently, passport service network comprises 37 passport offices across the country. This network has been vastly expanded with the operationalisation of 77 Passport Seva Kendras (PSKs) as extended arms of passport offices. For Indians living abroad, issuance of passports and other related documents is done by 183 Indian Missions and Posts.
Under the new system, the citizens can fill online the passport application, make payment and take appointment for personal visit to the concerned PSK to give their photographs and biometrics in connection with submission of passport applications. The modality for acceptance of passport applications at the camps would be same as that in PSKs.
"It is advisable that the applicants carry two photographs with light background to meet any exigency. Passport officials would be deputed at the camps to check the documents and guide the applicants for smooth submission process," the Ministry said. More information about the camps is available on the Passport Portal www.Passportindia.Gov.In.
In October, the Passport Seva Camps are planned at locations such as Agra, Allahabad, Cuddalore, Daman, Indore, Jamshedpur, Karwar, Karimnagar, Lakshadweep, Siliguri and Warangal. Based on the public response, the Ministry of External Affairs intends to hold such Camps periodically across the country in coming months.

Summary: Two-month-old Anaika Dia, daughter of Saleem Pasha Mohammed and Yasmin Kalluri from the Old City, was issued the passport. The application was accepted under the Tatkal scheme at the Tolichowki Passport Seva Kendra at 10.30 am. It was printed at 12.18 pm and was delivered at 2.28 pm the same day. Yasmin Kalluri, mother of the baby, expressed her happiness for the excellent service. "We are lucky that our child has become the 2 croreth passport holder. This is a memorable event in our life," she said.

Ashwini Sattaru, the new Regional Passport Officer, Hyderabad, said that 4.68 lakh passports had been issued in the first three quarters of 2014. The RPO, Hyderabad, also set a national record in August this year where 84,806 passports were issued in a month. In the last three months alone, 1.99 lakh passports have been issued.

"The RPO in the city has been issuing passports in the quickest time possible when compared to other offices across the country. Several new initiatives have been introduced and upgraded for the benefit of the applicants visiting the passport office with their grievances. The office has put in place a citizen-friendly and strong grievance redressal system to ensure quick service," said Ashwini.

On an average around 400-500 applicants visit the RPO, Hyderabad, every day between 9.30 and 11.30 am, five days a week, with grievances for which a helpdesk, three enquiry assistants, three dedicated officers of the rank of Superintendent and above have been appointed to clear the cases everyday across the counters. One address re-verification counter, one counter for payment of penalties, policy and Legal officers to address complicated cases like divorced parents, date of birth, adoption etc, have also been appointed. In addition, an applicant can always request for audience with the Deputy Passport Officer or Regional Passport Officer, in case he/she is aggrieved with the process being followed.

Summary: The Regional Passport Office, which was damaged by the last month's devastating floods, has resumed work and would receive fresh applications from tomorrow, officials said here today. The functioning of the Regional Passport Office (RPO)Srinagar has been restarted from yesterday and intending applicants can now submit applications for fresh Passports under normal category on all working days from tomorrow, an official spokesman said.

He said the applicants should carry Passport Application Forms along with the original and self attested photocopies of the required documents, one recent colored passport-size photograph (with white background) affixed on the form and the applicable fees in Cash or Demand Draft favouring Passport Officer, Srinagar, payable here. The spokesman said the intending applicants are informed to download and print the Passport Application form using the option "Print Application Form" under Forms and Affidavits available on the Passport portal.

Applicants also have the option of filling up the form online, he said, adding in case the fee has been paid online, a copy of the fee payment receipt needs to be submitted along with other documents.

Summary: About 2,247 applicants from across Karnataka benefitted from 'Passport Mela' held by Regional Passport Office (RPO) Bangalore on October 11. RPO-Bangalore offered 2,550 appointments for the mela held across four Passport Seva Kendras (PSK) in the State. This is the second passport mela organised by RPO-Bangalore within a month. During a similar exercise held on September 20, 2,280 passport applicants got benefited.

Summary: To reduce corrupt practices during verification of passport applications, Hyderabad police commissioner M Mahendar Reddy on Saturday announced an SMS-based system to update applicants on the verification process. Addressing a press conference here, the commissioner said that after the passport application reaches police, an SMS alert will be sent to the mobile phone of the applicant. The SMS would have a series of guidelines, which directs the applicant to be ready with all documents, not to bribe the verification officer and phone numbers to be contacted in case a demand is made. After completion of the verification, another SMS would reach the applicant informing that the verification process has been completed.

Applicants who follow the system of SMS will not fall prey to corruption,'' the commissioner said. To check the efficacy of the system, quality check would be done by officials from the commissionerate by taking a sample of 10% of the applicants, who will be contacted on phone to check about the experience to improve the service. To several queries on the mysterious death of 11-year-old Mustafa on the premises of Mehdipatnam Garrison, the commissioner refused to divulge any details. "The investigation is on and I cannot share the details. As of now, the investigation is yet to be transferred to SIT and is being done by local police with four teams,'' he said.

Responding to inaction in registering a criminal case against suspended Abids inspector TS Uma Maheshwar Rao, city CP Mahendar Reddy said, "An inquiry has been ordered as per Visakha guidelines. Based on the findings, we will definitely take action. No one will be spared."

Summary: Residents of Jammu and Kashmir will be exempted from paying fees for getting replacement of their passports which have been lost or damaged due to floods there, External Affairs Ministry announced today. Observing that the state has been affected by severe floods which have resulted in unprecedented loss of life and property, MEA said in order to contribute to the relief efforts that are currently underway, it has decided to take immediate steps to restore back the passport facilities to the flood affected passport holders whose passports have been lost or damaged due to floods.

"External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has today approved waiver of Passport fees to the flood affected Passport holders in Jammu & Kashmir. This waiver of fee would be one time exception for the Passport holders whose earlier Passport has been issued either from Passport Office, Jammu or from Passport Office, Srinagar. "This scheme would be valid for next six months (valid from the date of issue of Gazette notification in this regard)," the ministry said in a statement here. The replacement passport would be issued with the same particulars and remaining validity of previous passport, it added.

Regional Passport Office in Srinagar, located on 1st floor of the building of Passport Seva Kendra, will accept applications for replacements, the MEA Spokesperson said. Kashmir was hit by one of the worst floods last month that killed at least 285 people and caused an estimated Rs 1,00,000 crore in damage to homes, shops and infrastructure.

Summary: A separate fee structure has been introduced for issuance of short validity passports (SVPs). The ministry of external affairs has also advised against the use of SVPs with endorsements hand-written on them for extension of their validity, instructing all passport issuing authorities to issue a fresh booklet for every such SVP. Now, in case of issuance of a SVP having validity from 0 to 5 years, a fee of Rs 1,000 under the normal category and Rs 3,000 under the tatkal category will be charged. For passports having validity of more than 5 years but less than 10 years (validity of normal passport), the fees prescribed for a normal validity passport will be levied.

Short validity passports are issued in case of urgency to students on production of admission letters if they are to appear in international examinations under normal and tatkal schemes, in case of non-delivery of passport to the applicants due to loss in transit in the post offices (validity of which is extended to full term later on completion of the formalities), for Indians residing abroad and visiting India for a short period on production of necessary identification documents and proof of travel for a maximum period of one year and to applicants who may have a criminal case pending in any court, subject to a written permission granted by the court allowing the applicant to travel abroad. The validity of renewal of a short validity passport is decided by the assistant passport officer/RPO.

The fee structure and decision has been announced to not just avoid discrepancies in terms of payments, but also to stop the practice of issuing hand-written passports, except in emergency cases, to conform to International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) guidelines which now only allow machine readable printed passports.

Summary: The outcome of an interactive session between the Pune police and the passport officials in Pune is expected to speed up the verification process. During the session, Regional Passport Officer Atul Gotsurve explained why the verification must be completed in a timely manner. He also answered questions posed by 45 policemen. Grievance redressal camps would help clear pendency, they said. "The sheer volume of applications bogs down police officers in-charge of passport verification. At the session, I explained the passport issuing process and tried to understand their problems. I gave them examples of other states where the work is done in a time-bound manner. I have requested them to expedite the verifications, but keep it citi zen-friendly," Gotsurve said.

Deputy commissioner of police (FRO) Sanjay Patil said they had been working on generic instructions. "The interaction with the RPO was useful as many police officers had doubts about documentation and verification of the applicants' past record," he said. Patil said his team took time to ensure a thorough check before granting approval. "Sometimes our officers return from the applicants' homes empty-handed as they are out of town or at their work places. We are blamed for the delays. We want to be entirely sure about the applicant's credentials before giving a clearance," he said.

Passport verification redressal camps was a way out, he added. "The camps we organized in the last two months at Chatushrungi and Dattawadi police stations helped applicants who approached us. We cleared 153 pending files in a single day. One more camp at Chatushrungi police station is planned this month, before the officers get busy with election-related work," Patil said.

Summary: The Regional Passport Office here has doubled the appointments granted under the 'tatkal' system. In an official release issued here, Regional Passport Officer S. Sasikumar said that the quota for tatkal had been increased to 50 per day with effect from Thursday (September 25). Since the establishment of Passport Seva Kendra (PSK), as part of the Union Ministry of External Affair's Passport Seva Project (PSP), on August 4, 2011, the online appointments were reviewed periodically. This move to increase the tatkal quota was taken up after analyzing the recent trends. The total number of appointments granted per day would now go up to 600 from 575, he added. The Regional Passport Office here covered Coimbatore, Salem, Erode, Namakkal, Tirupur and the Nilgiris. Those requiring further information can contact the Regional Passport Office on (0422) 230 1415 / 230 6444 between 9.30 a.m. and 5.30 p.m.

Summary: During the verification mela organized by Chatturshrungi Police station 224 applications were verified. This was organized to fasten the passport process. There has been a shortage of manpower but with the help of the MEA the Mela was successfully executed. Under the guidance of Police Commissioner Sanjay Patil, 1 Police Commander and 11 Passport officers the verification of 224 people was successfully done. 30-40 people's verification is pending due to incomplete documentation but that to will soon be done.

Summary: Correct information, proper documents, proper internet connection, computer literacy are the master key's for new age passport process. These details were shared with Sakal editorial team when Atul Gotsurve visited the Sakal bureau. He added, "The passport process has been made extremely easy for a common man. 80% people who give the right information and documents get their passports on time. The remaining 20% suffer due to giving wrong or incomplete information. There has been delay's in police verification to improve that soon Police verification will go online fastening the process. Passport is an important document used to go abroad, it is a responsibility and one needs to be careful while issuing it. out of the 37 PSK's Pune ranks among the top 3".

Summary: With the passport offices across the country receiving an increased number of complaints, the Ministry of External Affairs has now come up with a "citizen-friendly and strong" grievance redressal system for quick resolution of the issues faced by applicants. According to Regional Passport Officer Atul Gotsurve, the Pune regional centre receives nearly 350 complaints every day. "Some applicants send us grievances through email, some call us up on the helpline while others visit the passport office personally to get clarifications or to register a complaint," he said.

The RPO said the MEA was now providing several channels to address the grievances and an applicant could choose one of them to get things cleared. "To seek passport-related information, the applicant can use our passport portal, dial the national call centre (1800-258-1800) number, send an email to rpo.pune@mea.gov.in or use the SMS alert system (by paying a one-time enrollment charge of Rs 30). The latest addition to this is our mPassport Seva, a mobile app to track the application status," said Gotsurve.

Grievances can be registered by sending an email, calling up the help desk or the national call centre, as also by registering at the Centralised Public Grievance Redressal and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS), which enables the application to track the status of the grievance. "Besides this, applicants can also visit the enquiry counters at the passport office on the Senapati Bapat Road between 10 am to 12.30 pm. We are also organising passport adalats and passport melas regularly to resolve the long pending and complex cases," said Gotsurve.

Summary: The passport applicants can now directly access information, provide feedbacks and file complaints through a mobile application. This app is available on Android, iOS and Blackberry. The applicant can download this app on their smartphone and can access all the information regarding the passport and passport offices nearby. An applicant can also get the information by writing an email to the regional passport officer. The app has features like providing the location of nearest passport seva Kendra, fee calculator for different services like applying for new passport and tatkal passport and status tracker. Applicants can call on the National call center 1800-258-1800 to gain more information.

Summary: Answer to all queries regarding the status of passport, delay in delivery and its issuance, is now just an email away. Applicants just need to send an email to the Regional Passport Officer (RPO) describing their issue. In a step to do away with the serpentine queues outside the passport office on Senapati Bapat Road, Pune RPO, Atul Gotsurve, has overhauled its operations. Applicant emails are promptly answered, there are five dedicated operators to answer the telephone enquires and a renovated lounge with a television set, a library of books and magazines and a mobile-charging station awaits the people visiting the office.

"We have streamlined the operations to improve our efficiency. I don't want applicants to wait endlessly outside my office. Rather than coming here, I urge all of them to email me their queries along with details of their applications. We have also increased the number of telephone operators from three to five for applicants who wish to call for clarifications," said Gotsurve. The footfall at the SB Road office has come down by 30%. "Applicants who earlier had to wait till as long as 5pm, now get their work done by 2pm. Our printing pendency too is down to zero," he said. Two other long-standing demands of applicants and activists, of an all-weather shed and a mobile toilet, have also been set up outside the Passport Seva Kendra in Mundhwa, said Gotsurve.

Summary: A Passport Mela was organized at the Passport Seva Kendra in Ashiana Digha Road. 352 applications were accepted during the Passport Mela from people who were facing problems with submitting their applications. 1500 additional slots were arranged and normal & re-issued applications were also accepted in the Mela.

Summary: The Regional Passport Office organised a passport mela here today to make it easier for the general public to get their passports. Regional Passport Officer JS Sodhi said 500 appointments were booked for the passport mela. As many as 401 people were issued passports by the authorities concerned after scrutinizing their applications at the mela today. Sodhi said of the total of 500 applicants, who had booked appointments for today, Only 431 attended the mela. He said around 35 applications were refused for want of relevant documents. The passport office had organised the mela to deal with the huge rush of the applications. The Regional Passport Office organised a passport mela here today to make it easier for the general public to get their passports. Regional Passport Officer JS Sodhi said 500 appointments were booked for the passport mela. As many as 401 people were issued passports by the authorities concerned after scrutinizing their applications at the mela today. Sodhi said of the total of 500 applicants, who had booked appointments for today, Only 431 attended the mela. He said around 35 applications were refused for want of relevant documents. The passport office had organised the mela to deal with the huge rush of the applications.

Summary: The ambitious Aadhaar project received a boost on Friday with Prime Minister Narendra Modi telling ministries that passports be linked to Aadhaar data in order to prevent duplication of work and ensure maximum utilisation of the collected information. According to the note from a meeting on Aadhaar, chaired by Modi on September 6, the PMO has said passports in the country should be linked to the Aadhaar number so as to utilise the biometric data collected under it. The Passport Authority of India falls within the Ministry of External Affairs.

Sources said the idea is to avoid "duplication of work", given both Aadhaar and the Passport Authority of India currently collect biometric data. The practice of mandatory collection of biometrics before the issuance of a passport was started a few years ago. "Since Aadhaar already has biometric data of around 67 crore people, it does not make sense for the Passport Authority to do the same work again when someone applies for a passport." said an official.

This will also ensure a better verification process since the biometrics through Aadhaar would help trace details about the person. Currently, the biometrics collected during the issuance of a passport are not utilised further. The cabinet recently set an Aadhaar enrolment target of 100 crore by the end of next year. The Indian Express had reported on July 7 that the government was looking into the possibility of linking passports with the Aadhaar number.

In another indication of the government's intention to take Aadhaar and the Direct Benefit Transfer scheme further, the note also says the PMO has directed the Planning Commission to conduct meetings with states and UTs to inform them of the findings of its review report on the current status of Aadhaar.

In July this year, the PMO had asked the plan panel to gather information about Aadhaar with respect to the beneficiaries of five key government schemes in 300 priority districts. The schemes are MGNREGA, pensions, scholarships, Public Distribution System and LPG. The plan panel was also asked to assess the status of the number of beneficiaries enrolled under Aadhaar as well as those whose accounts are seeded with it and those who have been left out of the process. At the September 6 meeting, the PM also directed the Home Ministry to enroll prisoners under Aadhaar.

Summary: Getting a Tatkal appointment for passports is set to get easier with the Passport Seva Kendra (PSK) in Mundhwa ready to offer 135 daily slots against the existing 110 slots starting September 22. From September 29, the number will be increased further to 160, a 45% increase over the current number of Tatkal appointments. With this, Pune will rank among the top cities in the country in terms of number of passports being processed under the Tatkal category.

The announcement made by regional passport officer Atul Gotsurve on Friday comes in the backdrop of repeated complaints about non-availability of appointment slots in the Tatkal category. The move will benefits applicants from all districts under the jurisdiction of the Regional Passport Office (RPO), namely Pune, Solapur, Sangli, Kolhapur, Ahmednagar and Satara. Gotsurve said, "The increase in Tatkal appointments is a result of our efforts to streamline the operations. We have increased manpower at the Mundhwa PSK by adding more granting and verifying officers which has allowed us more hands to process applications." Gotsurve said that a number of passport camps organized by the RPO in the last couple of months has also helped reduce the demand for Tatkal appointments.

"As a result, Tatkal slots remain open for more than 45 minutes now, which used to earlier get filled within a few minutes of being released at noon. We hope the increase in the number of slots will further take care of the shortage, if any," he said. Modifications in the application process, including allowing on-hold applicants to return with necessary documentation within a fixed timeframe without taking a fresh appointment has further reduced the load on the appointment diary of the PSK. "Pune's ratio of normal versus Tatkal appointments has always been very high, and the increase in number the of Tatkal slots will increase it further," Gotsurve added. With the increase in number of appointments, the PSK in Mundhwa will have the capacity to handle more than 1200 applications every day, including those of walk-in and on-hold applicants.

Summary: Nearly 2,500 aspirants took advantage of the 'Passport mela' organised across Passport Seva Kendras (PSKs) in the State on Saturday. Such melas have been organised regularly by the Regional Passport Office (RPO) to cater to increasing demand. The Bangalore RPO reportedly issued 68,167 passports in August this year. Regional Passport Officer P.S. Karthigeyan told The Hindu that of the 2,550 appointments made available before the mela, 2,533 were taken. Of these, 2,249 aspirants turned up. "The entire process of presenting the application form to completing biometric tests and the decision to grant or not grant passports was taken. Those cases which did not require police verification right away ('Annexure-F', where passport aspirants had certificates from authorised officers) went straight into printing. The others were sent to the police for verification," he said.

A release said a total of 2,550 appointments were made available for passport seekers in all PSKs in the State. Apart from Bangalore, the 'Passport Mela' was also held in Hubli and Mangalore PSKs. As many as 2,350 appointment slots were made available on September 15 to register for the mela under the normal category, while 200 tatkal appointments for Lalbagh Road PSK were released on September 18. They had registered online for the mela. Walk-ins, including on-hold and refused tokens, were not entertained. Applicants can check the status of their case online using their ARN by logging on to the portal of the passport department. A similar mela will be organised on October 11, for which 2,350 appointments will be released on October 6 under the normal category and on October 9 for 200 tatkal appointments for the PSK at Lalbagh Road.

Summary: Goans planning to acquire or renew an existing passport can now do so with the knowledge that the backlog of a year ago is long gone and it is possible to receive the document in twenty four hours if the person has a clear police record or is a minor. This was revealed by the passport officer Agnelo Fernandes during the course of an interaction with the Herald.

Agnelo said the problem faced by the authorities while perusing submitted documents is that many do not come with original documents. "In several cases I have noticed people do not register their births. In some cases names of parents are not correct," he added.

He said, "We start work at 9 am and on an average we handle approximately around 250-300 cases a day. This of course increases during the holidays when children come and it can even go up to 400". The office, Agnelo said, had to deal with families with unusual stories every other day. Families, he said, which separated when the couples split up, were a problem. He said, "In many cases the women win custody and the man has visitation rights but sometimes if the woman gets a job in the gulf and wants to take the son then the father will raise objections and go to court which then means we cannot move forward."

"The opposite was also true with women taking their children out without their ex-partner being aware and the father being left high and dry. He said when a divorce is granted it would be always prudent to get a custody order which would help the individual if he or she was applying for a passport for the children."

Agnelo said the documentation is rigorous and the checks conducted are thorough and it may be frustrating but these are required. "The government of India has outsourced the entire process to Tata Consultancy Services and there are a couple of officers from the Ministry of External Affairs present at the office," he informed.

He said the office accepts 25 applications everyday for cancellation of Indian passport. "I do not accept more than that number. Ninety-nine percent of the applications are by those who have acquired a Portuguese passport and the odd one by those with Canadian or Australian passport," he stated.

Summary: Life is a journey, make the most of it - passport authorities seem to be telling Jharkhand's citizens. To ease travel formalities further even after introducing online services, the Regional Passport Office (RPO) in Ranchi has decided to extend a monthly town service exclusively for residents of Jamshedpur and Dhanbad. Beginning October, an authorised team from the Ratu Road-based RPO will visit the steel city and the coal town in succession to host camps, where application forms will be collected and biometric tests done.

Speaking to The Telegraph on Tuesday, regional passport officer Sanatan said the objective was to boost people connect. "We recently received the go-ahead from the headquarters (in New Delhi under the Union ministry of external affairs). Tentatively, we will visit Jamshedpur in the third week of October. Dhanbad will be our next stop," he added. On how the camps would benefit people who can already access the Passport Seva Kendras (PSK) or services online, Sanatan pointed out that not every citizen requiring permission to travel outside country was computer-literate. "The home town services will reduce hassles for them. It will also boost citizens' confidence in us," he said.

Sources in the regional passport office added that, most importantly, the new service would do away with touts who often fleece citizens desperately seeking passport appointments online. Sanatan said the RPO team would host camps in Jamshedpur and Dhanbad once every month to collect applications, record biometrics and offer on-the-spot solution to passport matters. "All applications will be brought to Ranchi for processing of passports. This way, residents of Jamshedpur and Dhanbad will not have to come to Ranchi to get their applications and credentials vetted," Sanatan said, adding they would soon publish advertisements in this regard.

Sunil Kumar, a Jamshedpur resident who works as a probationary banker in Delhi, welcomed the new passport service. "I am planning to visit Jamshedpur for two weeks in October for Chhath. Now, I can use the opportunity to apply for my passport under the tatkal scheme," he said over phone from the national capital. Plans are also afoot to host similar services in every district of the state once a month if the pilot initiatives in Jamshedpur and Dhanbad succeed.

"In fact, we had wanted to begin our new initiative simultaneously in every district. However, the headquarters granted permission for only the two mentioned places, stating that if the drive worked, we would be free to roll it out statewide," Sanatan said. The RPO has announced its monthly passport mela in Ranchi on Saturday. Officials said the online appointment window had opened since Monday.

Summary: The Passport office at the Senapati Bapat has undergone a major transformation and it now resembles a swanky corporate office. Before the PSK in Mundhwa was started the Passport office on Senapati Bapat was the center to submit applications. Even though the passport process takes place at PSK, the number of people who visit the passport office with various issues are noticeably high. After the renovation of the passport offices, various amenities have been added to ensure that the applicants are comfortable during their visit. "They can now read a book in the waiting period, they also have a mobile charging point and coffee machine"- said RPO Atul Gotsurve. "Due the rise in number of passport applications, I am sending more and more of my employees to the PSK to fasten the process. In addition, to be able to cater to the growing needs we even hold passport mela's regularly" - said Mr. Atul Gotsurve.

For safety purposes the passport office has installed CCTV camera's at the reception, working area and outside the office and has in connection in officer's cabins. Atul Gotsurve said "soon with the help of technology we will be able to monitor the live situation at PSK which will help us be up to date in a short time".

Summary: The Regional Passport Office Jammu shall render urgent passport services to residents of entire State until passport services in the Kashmir Valley are fully restored. According to an official communique, decision in this regard has been taken in view of the unprecedented floods in Jammu and Kashmir and shutting down of operations of Regional Passport Office (RPO) Srinagar.

Summary: The Regional Passport Office organised a lok adalat here today to clear the pending applications. The passport office had earlier sent letters to 500 applicants, whose files were pending because of want of relevant documents. Regional Passport Officer JS Sodhi said of all the applicants, who were asked to attend the lok adalat and submit the required documents, around 410 visited the office today. He said after scrutinising the documents, around 300 applicants were issued passports on the spot. The passport office had objections on the files of 110 applicants, who were asked to submit documents at the later stage. The office also closed 90 files of the applicants, who failed to attend lok adalat today. Sodhi said in these case applicants would have to apply afresh if they wanted a passport. He said the office had collected Rs 77,000 as penalty from applicants. The Regional Passport Office has so far organised five Passport Melas and six lok adalats this year for making the issuance process easier for applicants. Sodhi said the online system of passport issuance was helping people save a lot of time. The office would organise more lok adalats in near future to help people get passports, he added.

Summary: Now the applicants can avail all the information regarding the status of their passport application through the mPassport Seva. This app can be downloaded through Google store on android. One can avail the information regarding nearest passport center, fee calculator, Status tracker and documents adviser.

Summary: The whole passport services are being revolutionized. Many measures are being taken to combat the network of touts and agents who dupe applicants on the name of getting their passports made. The Tatkal passports are made within 4 days and the normal passports take around 28 days to be made. The functioning of the PSK's has been more efficient and transparent and the employees are held accountable for their work. The entire duration for the filling of passport application has been reduce to 40 minutes and an extensive measures to increase the security at the PSK's been taken.

Summary: All documents for passports can now be self-attested. The Chief Passport Officer ordered for self-attestation saying that it would help lakhs of passport applicants. Currently, there is no need to attest documents like educational qualification, address proof, birth certificates, etc. by a gazette officer and only self-attestation is necessary. But the gazette officer's attestation was compulsory in the case of minors, married, retired or resigned government officers.

Summary: Is your passport application stuck in the labyrinthine twists and turns of red tape? There's hope yet, with two arms who play a crucial role - the passport office and the state police - deciding to switch to online mode to communicate. The state police has the dubious distinction of having the largest backlog in passport verification. An official of the Passport Seva Kendra said that most of the delay was caused by a communication gap between the passport office and the cops, though the application process had long gone online. After the passport officials check the veracity of an application, they send a request for police verification. This process, an official said, used to be through special messengers and used to take a long time. Again, the police also used to send their verification reports to the passport office through messenger, which caused similar delays. This back-and-forth communication, said the passport official, will now be made online, hoping that the entire process would thus be much faster. For the record, the Bengal police's verification backlog is about 1 lakh, possibly the highest in the country. The to-and-fro communication between the Bengal cops and the regional passport office by messenger is an "arduous task", said the official, and is largely to blame for the 101 days that the cops take, on an average, to complete a verification. This is way more than the 13 days required by the Delhi cops, 41 by Chennai cops and 68 days by Mumbai cops, he added. The online system, said regional passport office officials and the police, saves at least two weeks, compared with the manual system. "We have already made the system in the whole of south Bengal online, since the system had been launched in 2011," said a senior police officer. "This has expedited the process substantially. Now we are venturing into north Bengal. It is not just about installing a couple of computers and establishing a wide-area-network (WAN). It is also about training personnel, habituated in the manual system, to shift to the online mode. We hope to make the online system a reality in the whole of the state by early next year." The Kolkata regional passport office issues, on an average, 3.5 lakh passports every year. Apart from commissionerates like Kolkata, Bidhannagar, Howrah, Barrackpore, Durgapur-Asansol and Siliguri and districts like Hooghly, South 24-Parganas, North 24-Parganas, Hooghly and Howrah, all other districts are dependant on the manual system.

Summary: Applicants won't have to make rounds of a police station for verification of their passport application. The Thane rural police are sending text messages to passport applicants informing them about when they need to visit the police station for the verification procedure. This is the first time such a system has been launched in the state.

Summary: India's new system for processing passports, the Passport Seva scheme, has achieved flagship status. In 2006, the Indian government initiated its national e-governance plan to share core and support infrastructure, enable interoperability through standards and present a seamless view of government to citizens. One of the government's first projects under the national scheme was a programme to make it far easier for people to apply for passports. The Passport Seva scheme has achieved flagship status through its sheer scale and a high level of media attention. The numbers involved are huge, involving 90m records being migrated over from legacy systems to the new online system. To date, more than 13m passports have been issued, with more than 40,000 applicants handled every day by 77 passport centres. Those centres receive more than 19,000 calls a day and support 17 different languages. Complex public sector projects always present risks, which tend to be magnified in emerging markets where social structures are more fluid and vested interests are more fragmented. Tata Consultancy Services' flagship Indian e-governance passport project for the Ministry of External Affairs is an example of a successful public-private partnership that has delivered on all its milestones on time and on budget.One of the main factors that has helped this project succeed has been the joint management of passport centres by government officials and the private sector, following clearly-defined processes. Full details of the project are available via this case study from consultancy Ovum, which concludes that the project "stands out" from many other public sector procurement reforms and many mixed experiences with PPP models.

Summary: Amritsar RPO Mr. JS Sodhi said that now the applicants will be issued a passport with digitally printed signatures. He said that the Amritsar passport office has also resolved the issue of pending passports. He said that there will be a passport lok adalat organized on September 10 to expedite the pending passports.

Summary: A passport adalat was organized by the Regional Passport Office (RPO), Patna on Friday. As many as 97 applicants who had applied for passports before June 30 were present.

Summary: The Regional Passport Office here has issued 35,529 passports between August 1 and 8. According to a press release from Regional Passport Officer S. Maniswara Raja, a shortage in supply of passport booklets from Nashik had resulted in many passport applications pending. With suitable action taken by the Central government to increase the supply, the passport office here was able to issue a good number of passports. The office was kept open and passports were printed during Saturday and Sunday in three shifts. Pending applications had been cleared and the routine issuance of passports would continue, the press release added.

Summary: Passport Seva is the major project that comes under the National E-governors scheme. It is a joint venture of the private and public sectors .The project is mutually handled by Tata Consultancy Services and Ministry of External affairs.
When the government planned for Passport Seva project, they realized that the current facilities and Systems were inadequate. The government provided 85.17 lakh Passport services in the year of 2013. While comparing the numbers with the year 2000, it shows an increase of three times in the services. Continuing at the same rate the government can achieve the target of one crore Passports in a year 2014-2015. Globally 14% of passport distributions are happening in India. The distribution of passports in India grabs third position after China and America. The Passport Seva project was aimed to reach the passport related services more efficiently among Indian citizens. In 2012 June onwards, the project was expanded to 23 states and 63 metros. The private service provider and External Ministry separately appointed 2500 employees for this project. Initially, the project was done by the private company by Build-on-operate-transfer method. The government investment is comparatively less. The project was aimed to provide an easy and credible way to get passport and related services through believable and trained resources.
Passport Seva is a chain that extends to 77 Passport Seva Kendras, 39 Passport distribution authorities, Police, India security press and Post offices. The project has changed the way of receiving the passport. With the help of passport issuance and related services, application for passport can be submitted though Passport seva's web portal. The portal also facilitates to pay the fees online.
Applicants can complete other procedures of the Passport Seva Kendra on the allotted date and time. Incthis stage the passport application will be checked. The submission of documents and taking photographs and biometric details also takes place during this time. After verification of documents and applications by the Passport Office staff, the decision on particular passport application is taken in front of the applicant.
The Passport Seva Kendra's are well equipped and fully air conditioned. Photo copy machine, Public telephone booth, Child care rooms, Magazines, ATM, Internet kiosks and Food and drink kiosks are available in each Passport Seva Kendra. Wheel chair, specially cleansed room for physically challenged, Walk bays and Lifts are also there. Special employees are also appointed for better communication inside the Passport Seva Kendra.
a) Passport Seva Portal - This is a single window system for Passport related services. The portal also helps in providing the expanded service; it also provides the latest information about services, the status of the passport application etc
b) Call centre and Help desk - A national call center offers 24 hours support in 17 languages.
c) Passport Seva Mobile application - M-Passport Seva is the mobile application that provides Passport related information through smart phones. M-Passport Seva is available in all the Android, IOS, Windows and Blackberry platforms.
d) Value added SMS service to know the Status - The Passport Seva Kendra will inform you about the Speed post tracking number and related information through SMS. SMS services are also available for the Passport applicants
The Passport Seva project has been able to provide a better experience to the user:-
a) Passport Seva Mela - Passport Seva Kendra conducts Passport Melas during the weekends. It helps to reduce the queue for the passports.
b) Passport Seva Camp - The Passport Seva camps are conducted in the places which have no Passport Seva Kendra outlets.
For the excellence in the performances the Passport Seva Kendra bagged significant recognitions .Some of them as follows:

• Computer Society of India Nihilent Award for Excellence 2012
• E India award for excellence 2013
• Promising Innovation award by TATA Innovista regional round in2013
• Secure IT Awards for Information Technology 2014

Passport Seva Kendras achieved the revolutionary implementation of hassle free services in Passport related services .180 lakh passport applications are processed though this system and services are provided to 45,000 citizens per day.
The satisfactory level for the applicants is 95.5%. About 25,000 enquiries are answered though the 24 hour call center. The portal that provides relevant information is accessed by 20 million lakh visitors. M Passport facilities are utilized by 15,000 visitors per day.

Summary: All steps are on to clear the pending passport applications and with the resumption of passport booklet supply from India Security Press, Nashik, 26,908 passports have been printed and about 17,600 despatched to applicants in the last one week, regional passport officer Senthil Pandian said here on Saturday. Addressing a public grievance day at Saligramam passport seva kendra, Mr Pandian said around 42,000 applications in the pending list would soon be approved if the applicants submit the required documents.
Passport office sources said a special passport mela was also conducted last month to meet the growing demand and to clear the backlog. More than 300 applicants visited the PSKs at Saligramam, Tambaram and Aminjikarai and benefited during the grievance day meet. While new applications weren't considered, the grievance meet looked into applications put on hold during a period of six months from January to June 2014 for want of additional documents or clarification, sources added.

Summary: Summary: Applying for a passport can be a daunting task, with a scramble to find all the necessary documents and book an appointment before all the time slots are snatched up. It's no wonder then that one of the greatest fears of passport applicants is getting their documents wrong and having to go through the process again.
To address this, the Regional Passport Office (RPO) in Pune has introduced a new scheme that will allow applicants to submit their applications even if they do not have all the necessary paperwork. Passport officers have begun giving applicants up to a month to return and submit their documents at a convenient time.
"Earlier, passport seekers had to make several rounds of the RPO when they forgot to bring the necessary documents. However, according to this scheme they can submit their documents within a month from the date of application for passport," said Pune Regional Passport Officer, Atul Gotsurve (IFS).
The scheme is already proving beneficial to many, particularly for applicants who travel long distances to Pune from Ahmednagar, Satara, Sangli, Solapur and Kolhapur, which fall under the jurisdiction of the Pune RPO. "We have been receiving 80 such applications on a daily basis," said Gotsurve.
Save money and time
Passport seekers pay charges of R1,500 for a regular application, and R3,500 for a speedier tatkal application. Earlier, they would often lose their money when their applications were rejected because of the lack of documents. With the new move, however, they do not need to spend again on new applications and can simply return with their papers later. "They don't even have to take a fresh appointment to submit their remaining documents. Our staff will ask them the duration in which they would be able to submit their documents," said Gotsurve.
Anyone who has ever tried applying for a passport will know how big a boon this is, as passport appointments are notoriously hard to come by. Despite the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) introducing an online system last year to automatically generate appointments, the time slots are often snapped up within minutes of release.
The procedure
Gotsurve told mid-day that those who want to benefit from this scheme will have to fill up a special yellow form, which is available only with the staff, and not with agents. "Their biometric and other necessary data will be collected and then they can produce the documents within a month," he said.

Summary: Hundreds of people had been forced to queue up at the passport office recently following notices for "irregularities" found during police verification of their applications. The lot includes holders of Tatkal passports, whose verification was done after the document was issued. Metro tries to answer some questions on everybody's minds.
Why do you need police verification after getting a Tatkal passport?
Of course, police verification is compulsory. In the absence of a clear report from the cops, the regional passport office (RPO) sends summons to the applicant. He or she would have to appear before passport officials to explain the point on which the police submitted an adverse report.
How would the police verify your presence if you go abroad immediately after getting a Tatkal passport?
When police officers come to your residence for verification, others at home should inform them about your status abroad. To prevent the police from submitting an adverse report, you could ask any of your relatives or acquaintances in the city to submit an application before the RPO informing that you could not undergo the police verification process because you were abroad. In that case, your application would be uploaded with your online passport file number that would act as intimation for the police to know your status abroad.
Do you have any other responsibility other than submitting an application to the RPO informing the reason why you missed the police verification?
Yes, submitting the application would temporarily stall initiation of an adverse police report against you. It would be your duty to contact the security control office or district intelligence bureau of your area to complete the police verification once you return from abroad.
On what grounds could the police file an adverse report?
Police may submit an adverse report in the following cases

• If they do not find you at home when they come for physical verification
• If your place of birth doesn't match with your current address
• If they are not satisfied with any of your documents

What should you do if you get a letter from the passport office blaming you for suppression of facts, asking you to explain why your passport should not be impounded?
On receiving a showcause notice, you could opt for either of the two options

• If you are clueless why the police might have submitted an adverse report against you, visit the RPO to know the reason why you have been showcaused.
• If you are certain why an adverse report has been generated, you could send an application through registered post to the RPO explaining why police submitted an adverse report.

If the RPO finds your reply satisfactory, your letter would be treated as a request to reinitiate the police verification process. You could track the status of your case online through your file number.
Even after submission of application or documents, is there a chance that your passport would be impounded?
Your passport could be impounded if the ministry of external affairs finds that you have suppressed certain facts.
To the best of your knowledge, you did not suppress any information. But this showcause notice alleges you suppressed facts. Why is that so?
According to sources at the Calcutta RPO, it is a generic letter formatted to cover all probable offences as it is apparently impossible to mention individually to each of the applicant the exact reason why police submitted an adverse report. Getting this letter doesn't mean that your passport is going to be impounded. The impounding process begins if any suppression of fact is proved.
What can you do to avert this situation?
The best option, after you receive a Tatkal passport, is to contact the police in your area with relevant documents and get yourself verified before you leave the country. That would save you the compulsion of being at home when the cops turn up for verification and avert the harassment of getting a showcause notice in case the police submit an adverse report for not finding you home.

Summary: From now on, permanent address will not be an issue for those applying for a passport as applicants can submit their registered rent agreement as a valid proof of address where they have stayed as tenant for more than a year. Passport applicants face a lot of difficulties during the clearing process, particularly if they reside in far off places for work or study purpose. There has been a growing demand from various sections for the past couple of years to give relaxation in submitting the address proof. The union ministry of external affairs has been receiving such requests for a long time from the passport issuing authorities and the public at large to treat the registered rent agreement as one of the valid documents as proof of address. The matter was discussed with the legal and treaties (L&T) division of the ministry and it was decided that the registered rent agreement duly registered under Section 17 of the Registration Act, 1908, and executed in favour of the tenant by the landlord for a period of more than one year will be accepted as a valid proof of address for the purpose of the submission of passport application. Harmanbir Singh, regional passport officer, "Though we are relaxing the address proof norms, we will be very strict while inspecting whether the tenant has stayed in the given address for one year or more and the agreement is executed as per the rules notified in the act."

Summary: The diamond city witnessed its first passport mela organized to ease the increasing rush of passport applicants in south Gujarat region. The regional passport office (RPO) successfully organized its first 'passport mela' at the Passport Seva Kendra (PSK) on Saturday. Around 500 applications from the passport applicants from the districts like Bharuch, Bardoli, Dangs, Narmada, Navsari, Tapi and Surat were catered at the PSK on Saturday. Official sources said that there is a heavy rush of passport applicants at the PSK from across the south Gujarat region on daily basis. In order to ease the rush in submission of passport applications, the passport mela was organized. A total of 500 appointments were opened up and that the applicants had started applying online since August 7. However, it being a special drive, applicants only with clear cases and complete documents for issuance of Passport were entertained. The applications will be processed as per documents required for normal category. However, those applications who travelled on EC (Emergency Certificate), change in name or other personal particulars, adoption cases of minors, divorce cases, reissue against lost and damaged passport etc. werel not processed in Passport Mela. According to the RPO sources, around 800 applications are being processed every day at the PSK.

Summary: On August 2, Pune city police completed police verification reports (PVRs) of 153 passport applicants in a single day at the Dattawadi Police Station. Till then, Dattawadi PS had the highest PVR pendency cases (over 600) among all police stations. In order to reduce PVR pendency, DCP (Special Branch II & FRO) Sanjay Patil organised a Passport Grievances Redressal Day at the police station. Buoyed with the success, city police have now decided to organise similar events at Nigdi, Yerawada and Chatushrungi police stations, which have over 400 pending PVRs. Patil said, "Two personnel at every PS are engaged for the process. We deployed 13 cops on August 2. We informed the applicants through SMSes, email and the media, and asked them to reach the PS with their documents and two respectable citizens known to them. We sent a cop to the applicant's given address for on-the-spot verification and had information from police records. The remaining 40 PVRs will be done in two-three days.".

Summary: Following complaints about inordinate delay in passport verification, police commissioner Rakesh Maria on Thursday launched a police station model of passport verification under which the entire process will be completed in just 10 days. Maria said the new system will not only help clear passports faster, but also reduce the burden of documentation and make the process corruption-free. "It was a challenge because the manual verification procedure would take months and there were allegations of corruption," he said. Earlier, a Passport Seva Kendra (PSK) would send an application to the special branch (SB)-II, which would then send it to the local police station. The police would check the documents, conduct a physical inspection, and send the application back to the SB-II, which would then send it back to the PSK. Maria said under the new system, the PSK will send an application directly to the police station concerned. The local police will then send a text message to the applicant informing him that they have received the application and give him an appointment within the next three days. "Police will conduct all inspections within seven days and send a report to the SB-II, which will take another two days to scrutinize the application and send it to the Regional Passport Office. Finally, the SB-II will send a text message to the applicant informing him if the application has been approved or rejected," said Milind Bharambe, additional commissioner of police (west region). Police also launched a helpline-7715800000-and email-srpipassportsb2-mum@nic.in-for citizens to know their application status or file grievances.

Summary: Cuttack has become the first city in the state to adopt online correspondence between passport office and police for verification of passport. Earlier, both used to dispatch the passport applications through the postal department, which was time consuming.
"From last week, we started sending the passport applications to DCP office in Cuttack online for police verification. After doing so, the DCP office will send the applications online to our office. The process will hasten the process of passport delivery," said regional passport officer Padma Mahanti. "Bhubaneswar and other districts will replicate the system towards August-end," she said.
Drawing flak for the inordinate delay in verifying the applications, the regional passport office recently approached the state government to make police verification process online.
Though a passport should be issued within 20 days, delay in police verification has been a cause of concern for applicants. The regional passport office here dispatches nearly 72,000 passports a year.
The passport office has also decided to provide handheld devices, akin to tablets, to police stations in the twin cities to expedite the process of antecedent verification of applicants. "The tablets will carry crime database of people in the state. Police officers, who are now verifying the antecedents by scanning through files for days together, can check the background of the applicants with help of tablets during on-ground verification.
They can also take the digital signature of applicants and send documents online to us. They need not take print-out of the documents to send through post," said Mahanti.
Police officers, verifying passport applications within 21 days will be rewarded with more cash incentives.

Summary: The regional passport office, Patna released additional 1, 350 slots at a passport mela organized at Passport Seva Kendra, Ashiana-Digha Road on Saturday, for the applicants who did not get time-slot for application on working day 1, 291 applicants turned up, while 1, 138 applications were accepted.

Summary: Passport adalat was organized for Passport applicant at Regional Passport Officer on Friday in which 71 cases were resolved.

Remember the time you went to the Regional Passport office to renew an old Passport or to get a new one? You had to stand in a long queue for hours, often jostling and fighting your way to the counter, only to be told that you had not filled up your application form correctly or you had forgotten to bring some document or the other.
Inside the hall where counters were located there used to be total confusion with no place for anyone to sit. Add to this, inadequate number of fans and visitors had to sweat it out for a couple of hours. It used to be especially tough on old and infirm people and a nightmare for everyone. Invariably you had to visit the passport office a couple of times before you managed to get your passport.
I am happy to tell you that all that seems to have changed. At least in Chennai! Today the whole procedure has been streamlined so well that you can apply for renewal of your Passport or a new one; online. You not only get instant acknowledgement, but also have a choice of three Centres where you can get an interview appointment. Senior citizens don`t even need an appointment. They can visit one of the three Centres in Chennai between 9 and 10 am on any working day. I did not believe the travel agent who helped me with the application formalities (since I am computer semi-literate!) that for senior citizens like me, the procedure would take less than 30 minutes. I had still gone prepared to wait for a couple of hours armed with a bottle of water, biscuits and some reading material. I was surprised to find a stall selling snacks and drinks inside the hall (However, there was no opportunity for me to even open the magazine I was carrying!).
When I reached Saligramam, the location I had chosen, I was impressed with the new double-storied building with a professional security service manning the flow of people. I was directed to an enquiry counter for senior citizens. After checking my documents, the assistant gave me a token and asked me to go to the first floor and wait in the assigned hall for my name to be called. The fully air-conditioned hall with false ceiling and sleek looking stainless steel chairs with provision for seating more than 100 people at a time looked as impressive as the exterior of the building. Though there were more than 100 people already seated in the hall, I was surprised that my name was called even before I could take my seat in the hall. I was directed to a particular counter in another air-conditioned hall with more than 50 counters, fully equipped with a camera and a finger print machine-all manned by trained assistants.
The whole process of checking my application, clicking my photo, finger printing and collecting the fees took five minutes and the efficient assistant at the counter told me to wait in the adjacent hall for a final interview with an executive of the Regional Passport Office. Even here, as a senior citizen, I was given preference and called immediately to a counter. The executive concerned asked me some routine questions and told me that my passport would reach my house by courier within two weeks. I was out of the passport office within 20 minutes of entering it. I could not believe it!
Throughout my brief stay I was made to feel like a VIP. And that too without the help of any middlemen, who have been completely eliminated thanks to the new system. It was a great feeling!
I was told that even for the general public which comes in larger numbers every day the time taken is less than 2 hours, but the important thing is that the waiting is made pleasant and comfortable, unlike the earlier days!
Later, I found out that the whole new system has been designed by TCS, the number one software giant of the country who have not only created the complete software for the project but are also providing trained man power to handle all the technical formalities. The government agents only have to satisfy themselves that the candidate is a genuine applicant. An excellent example of Public/Private sector partnership!
With the use of technology the government has already made life easier for tech savvy people who can now book tickets for rail and many other services online, eliminating the need for middlemen.
Technology, while making life easy for the general public should also help the government to get rid of the rampant corruption, if only it has the political will. I think our new tech savvy PM has that Will. Let us hope we Will really see "Achhe Din" under the "Modi Sarkar".

Summary: The Regional Passport Office (RPO) on Senapati Bapat Road is undergoing a complete transformation online with the TCS run Passport Seva Kendra (PSK) in terms of infrastructure and facilities. The incumbent Regional Passport Officer Atul M Gotsurve, an Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer, has initiated a series of measures aimed at boosting the image profile of the non-descript government office.
Explaining his vision behind changing the face of the passport office, Gotsurve, said that he had found that the applicants visiting the passport office had wait till they complete their formalities. "We have installed televisions in the office for providing entertainment to the applicants who visit our office daily," he added. The flat screen televisions have been stationed in the sitting hall of the RTO where applicants can comfortably watch the TV from their chairs. A state of the art drinking water dispenser has been put at one of the corners of the building. A well stocked library containing books ranging from latest bestsellers to books related to governance, fiction, adventure and children related topics have been stored for the convenience of the applicants.
The new library set up by Gotsurve has the provision for all the facilities of a modern library. The applicants can pull out any book of their choice, make an entry in the official register and then read it while they wait her turn of work at the office. Regarding the library, Gotsurve said that it was much needed to calm down the applicants, who already come up with a lot many apprehension regarding their work. "The library will also promote reading culture amongst the applicants," he added.
Manjett Singh Virdi, a Wanavdi based businessman, who visited the passport office said that he was happy to see the arrangements in place. "The library is an interesting place to spend time when one is at the passport office. The interiors are looking much cleaner and it is the most visible sign of change," he added. The passport office has also deployed a dedicated person to answer all the online and telephone queries of the applicants.

Summary: The external affairs ministry has decided to limit the number of verification certificates for Tatkal passports that a government official can issue in a month, official sources said. The trigger for the decision is a nationwide scandal in which bureaucrats were found to have issued certificates without verifying the applicants' credentials. The taint list includes 12 bureaucrats in Bengal, prompting the ministry to bring at least 1,200 Tatkal passports issued in Calcutta last year under the scanner.
The foreign ministry has blacklisted these officials. "We will restrict the number of verification certificates that a government official can issue in a month. This we expect would help curb malpractice that has crept into the system," chief passport officer Muktesh Pardeshi told Metro. Sources said no official would be allowed to issue more than five certificates a month. But Pardeshi said the passport authorities were yet to arrive at a number.
"Issuing five verification certificates a month would mean the official is personally vouching for around 60 applicants a year, which is quite high. Officers of the rank of superintendent of police and district magistrates, who can verify the credentials of an applicant, can technically issue more after proper verification. The maximum limit is still under consideration," he said. Senior officials in the ministry said similar cases have been reported in Punjab, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh and Odisha.
Applicants for Tatkal passports must submit a verification certificate from government officials of a certain rank and above and the passport office is supposed to despatch the document within a single working day, excluding the date of submission of the application. The police verification is done later. A passport official said bureaucrats are expected to issue certificates only to those known personally to them or whose credentials they had checked.
On July 14, Metro had reported that 12 bureaucrats - most of them from the Indian Revenue Service and at least two from the Indian Administrative Service - had been blacklisted and barred from issuing verification certificates. These officials had issued certificates to at least 1,200 Tatkal applicants last year, according to records with the passport office. Sources in the Calcutta RPO said most applicants had claimed that they didn't know the officer who issued the certificate but paid money to a fixer to get the document. The matter was not reported to police because of the absence of evidence while applicants who benefited from the wrongdoing were reluctant to report it, sources said.

Summary: Soon you will no longer have to queue up at the regional passport office to apply for your passport as passport related services will now be available at MeeSevacentres across the state, said NLP Choudary, Regional Passport Officer for Visakhapatnam. Plans are also afoot to roll out passport services at select post offices in the state, Choudary. He, however, did not divulge the exact date when the service will be rolled out at the MeeSeva centres or the post offices.
Addressing media persons after inaugurating a workshop on 'Passport Seva through Mee Seva Centres' at the Passport Seva Kendra at Murali Nagar in the city on Saturday, Choudary said that the Union ministry of external affairs had joined hand with e-Governance Services India Limited to roll out this service in the near future to eliminate the menace of touts and agents haunting the RPO and PSKs.
"The service will be more useful to passport applicants who are not computer literate as they will no longer need to rely on touts and agents, who dupe gullible applicants by charging exorbitantly high prices for filling up application forms and booking appointments for the applicants," Choudary explained.

Summary: As part of the Passport Seva Project (PSP), a Mission Mode Project, implemented by the Government with a view to comprehensively overhaul passport issuance system, 77 Passport Seva Kendras (PSKs) as per enclosed list (Annexure -I), have been set up and operationalised as extended arms of the existing 37 Passport Offices across the country. Since the launch of Pilot PSKs in May 2010 to 30th June, 2014 - 1, 53, 29,306 Passports have been issued in the new system.

• The Passport Portal, www.passportindia.gov.in, is web-based and can be accessed by anyone, anytime and anywhere. The citizens are free to apply online and obtain appointments themselves or seek the assistance of anyone else to obtain appointments. The applicants are required to log on to the Passport Portal; create their user ID and assign a password; fill & submit the application form online or download the e-form, fill & upload the same at the portal (applicants may scan and upload supporting documents, if they so desire); schedule an appointment after making payment of passport fee online through debit/credit card or State Bank of India (SBI) net-banking or SBI Challan; and along with a print-out of Appointment Slip/Challan, original documents and photocopies, visit the concerned PSK for submission of application.
• With a view to address the challenge of digital divide in the country, especially in the rural hinterland, the Government in association with M/s. CSC e-Governance Services India Limited {which is promoted by the Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DeitY)}, has facilitated online filing of passport applications, through the vast network of over one lakh CSCs across rural hinterland. The CSCs which are the delivery points for Government, Private and Social Sector services in the area, facilitate filling and uploading of Passport application form, payment of applicable fee and scheduling of appointment for visit to the PSK, at nominal charge not exceeding Rs. 100/-. As per the appointment schedule, the applicants visit the PSK for completion of application submission process. The services through CSCs are available throughout the week, including during the weekend.
• The online appointment system has been introduced to minimize waiting time for applicants. Appointments are allotted according to handling capacity of PSKs and are based on electronic queue management system. The number of public dealing counters has been increased from the erstwhile 350 to 1610 in the new system and public dealing hours have gone up from 4 hours to 7 hours a day.
• The entire process is online and streamlined including interface with the Indian police for verification of personal particulars of applicants and with India Post for tracking delivery of passports. Status of applications can be tracked through the passport website or through passport Seva. An e-mail based helpdesk facility and a 24x7 National Call Centre has been set up to provide requisite information to citizens in 17 languages. An SMS message is sent to the citizen as soon as the passport is dispatched. For assistance, one can call toll-free helpline 1800-258-1800.
• Applicants' presence in person at the PSK enables the Passport Issuing Authority to capture their photograph and fingerprints to prevent the incidence of impersonation. The applicants also get full opportunity to see and affirm their personal particulars to be entered in the passport to avoid unnecessary correspondence later.
• Walk-in facility has also been allowed to citizens having Application Registration Number (ARN) to enable them to apply for Tatkaal service, issue of Police Clearance Certificate (PCC), deletion of Emigration Clearance Required (ECR) status, inclusion of name of spouse in the passport and issue of new booklets where pages have been exhausted. Senior citizens above 60 years, minors below 15 years whose parents hold valid passports, differently-abled persons, Central/State government employees and their spouse/dependent minor children having ARN have also been permitted walk-in facility.
• Amenities in every PSK include photocopying, food and beverage, public phone booth, baby care room, newspapers and television in a comfortable air-conditioned environment while the applicants obtain passport services.
• The Project is supported by state-of-the-art technology infrastructure which enables end-to-end passport services to be delivered with enhanced security. A complex algorithm has been built in to highlight cases of possible duplication and suppression of information by the applicant.
• The PSP system also has the potential of integration with other e-governance initiatives of the Government.
• Security has been given special attention in the Project. The accountability of the employees as well as the Service Provider's personnel, in respect of any task performed in the PSP system, is ensured through three-level authentication comprising Biometric log-in, User ID/Password and Digital Signatures.
• Passport Offices conduct Passport Melas at PSKs on weekends from time to time for meeting high demand of passports. Passport Adalats, on need basis, are also conducted by Passport Offices to redress passport service grievances by dealing with citizens directly.
• As police verification of personal particulars and antecedents of applicants is critical to Passport issuance, Passport Offices keep in touch with Police to expedite Police Verification reports.
• A Handbook of Standard Documents & Procedures for PSK officials has been circulated to all the Passport Offices for speedy processing of passport applications.
• A Productivity Linked Incentive Scheme has been implemented aimed at increasing productivity of the Central Passport Organisation officials

Due to economic growth more people are travelling abroad for leisure or better opportunities, and one can see a rise in travel to Gulf countries, US,UK, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and Dubai

Summary: Average time brought down to 25 days from 45 days.The average time taken for police verification of passport applications have been brought down to 25 days and steps are being taken to reduce it further, said M.Ramasubramani, Inspector General of Police, Central Zone, Tiruchi, here on Friday."From the earlier average of 45 days, we have brought it down to 25 days now. We are trying to reduce it further. At the same time, it is important to ensure that the applications are properly verified," he said inaugurating a Passport Adalat at the Passport Seva Kendra (PSK) here. The Adalat was organised at Tiruchi and Thanjavur PSKs to allow applicants to apply for passports without online appointments which run out quickly owing to heavy demand. It was also meant to help Haj pilgrims apply for passports without having to wait for online appointments.
Mr.Ramasubramani said frequent coordination meetings were being held between officials of the Regional Passport Office and the police to expedite police verification and discuss pending cases, if any. The Passport Office has also ensured transparency in issue of passports and touts have been controlled. Regional Passport Officer K.Balamurugan observed that passport is no longer just a travel paper but an economic document as people going abroad bring in foreign exchange. Demand for passports is very high in the Tiruchi region and the Regional Passport Office here issues about 1.70 lakh passports a year on an average. Constant measures are being taken to expedite the process of issuing passports. Currently, police verification forms are sent directly to the police stations in Thanjavur district from the Thanjavur PSK through messenger, instead of the earlier process of routing it through the office of the Superintendent of Police in the district. An online system to enable downloading of the papers directly at the police stations concerned is to be introduced soon in Nagapattinam district, he said.

Summary: Hundreds of people gathered at the Passport Seva Kendra here on Saturday for the exclusive mela organized for applicants from four central districts. Central zone Inspector General Ramasubramanian inaugurated the mela along with Regional Passport officer K Balamurugan here as people from Karur, Perambalur, Ariyalur and Trichy districts thronged the office. The RPO here caters to applicants from Trichy, Karur, Nagapattinam, Perambalur, Pudukkottai, Thanjavur, Ariyalur and Thiruvarur districts. There are two Passport Seva Kendras for applicants in districts around Trichy and those around Thanjavur. All queries related to passports along with applications and appointments were addressed in the mela. Ramasubramanian, who handed over applications to applicants, said police were trying their best to reduce the number of days for passport issuance. "What started with about 45 days has been reduced to 25-30 days and mission is to reduce it to the maximum." The department does not allow any case related to passport in the pending sections and clears it at the earliest, he said. Balamurugan said that in a year the RPO catered to 1.72 lakh applicants and the demand was growing. "Passports these days have become an asset and it has become a document used for everything." Keen on simplifying the cumbersome process, the RPO opened several channels to answer applicants' queries. A Facebook and Twitter page opened three months ago have caught the attention of people living abroad.

Summary: A social audit cell to reduce the cumbersome process of obtaining passports and also develop a rapport with the public which was started recently at the regional passport office in the city has received a positive response from the public. The cell, located in front of the regional passport office premises welcomes people with huge banners written 'Yaen' (Why) in Tamil. And below that, is listed the reasons for the delay in the issuance of passports.
The initiative is the brainchild of K Balamurugan, regional passport officer. "The mission is to reduce crowds coming to the regional passport office where a number of problems regarding the issuance of passports are clarified. However, as the RPO caters to a number of districts mostly from rural backgrounds, people are forced to travel on a regular basis. The social audit cell has been set up to benefit such people," Balamurugan said.
He further added that with a number of people filing RTIs (Right to Information) to seek official documents on police verification and the reasons for delay, the cell will serve as a perfect platform for them. An official has been appointed exclusively to give the exact status on the passports and the documents. The RPO has also opened a new Facebook and Twitter page three months ago operating in the name of Regional Passport Office, Trichy, which have caught the attention of those living abroad. Several of them have also posed queries on the FB page.
Khader Mohideen, a resident of Karur said, "I was able to obtain the police verification documents from the social audit cell as that was the only thing delaying my passport issuance." The regional passport office here caters to eight districts - Trichy, Karur, Nagapattinam, Perambalur, Pudukkottai, Thanjavur, Ariyalur and Thiruvarur. It operates through two passport seva kendras (PSKs) to cater to the needs of the districts around Trichy and those around Thanjavur.

Summary: In order to eliminate monopoly and to curb unregulated kiosks offering passport application filling services in Kashmir, the Ministry of Communication, Information and Technology government of India has tied up with Village Level Entrepreneurs to offer these services to people on nominal charges. Talking to KNS, Firdous Iqbal Regional Passport Officer Srinagar said that the people can now avail these services at any time at Khidmat Centres across the state. "Aspirants will be charged Rs 100 for filling up of a single online passport application form as compared to exorbitant rates charged by private kiosks," Firdous Iqbal said.
He said that the union ministry for communication under Common Service Centres-Special Purpose Vehicles (CSC-SPV) has started this facility for the common people who so far were being taken at a ride by unregulated kiosks in the market. The new facility will end the monopoly of these private centres who were charging people as per their own parameters, a Passport applicant observed while talking to KNS. The facility has already been started by the government of India and people have been appealed by the passport officer to avail these services. (KNS)

Summary: A passport mela was organized on Saturday at Ghaziabad PSK in which 700 applicants could process their passport applications. The mela was organized due to difficulty in getting appointments online

Summary: Tathya Mitra Kendras in 6,000 locations across Bengal have been empowered to help passport-seekers file applications online for a nominal fee so that nobody has to depend on a tout. The service, introduced this week, is for the benefit of those who don't have Internet access or find the system of filing applications online and seeking an appointment cumbersome. The fee for the service is Rs 100, a fraction of what touts demand.
"We need to eliminate the touts who extort money from a section of applicants, taking advantage of their ignorance about computers. The Tathya Mitra Kendras are meant to eliminate the dependence on touts," said a senior official of the regional passport office in Calcutta. Tathya Mitra Kendras are government-aided centres set up under the public-private partnership model by rural entrepreneurs to provide basic information technology-related services to villagers. Bengal has 6,339 Tathya Mitra Kendras, some located in the block offices, others at the gram panchayat headquarters and a few elsewhere. Each such centre is manned by at least one village-level entrepreneur with basic infrastructure comprising at least one computer and a printer.
"Calcutta doesn't have any Tathya Mitra Kendra but if someone living in the city wants to, he or she can seek help at the nearest centre in one of the adjoining districts," an official said. A Tathya Mitra Kendra helps a customer download and fill in education and employment-related forms, apply for a government scholarship, file an online application for an electricity connection, apply for SC/ST certificates and search land records, among other things.
"Most people come to us to file an application online for an electricity connection. This year, we have had many students coming to download college entrance forms," said Nilkamal Jana, a village-level entrepreneur who has been running a centre with two computers at Kaktia in East Midnapore for six years. Personnel manning the Tathya Mitra Kendras have had to undergo training to be eligible for the new service."We have trained the majority of the village-level entrepreneurs in the online passport application process. Another batch will be trained on July 5 at the Behrampore Passport Seva Kendra," an official at the passport office said.
Passport application went online in December 2011 but the promise to "uncomplicated" the process didn't yield results until much later. "Getting an online appointment became a problem and touts flourished, doubling their fees to help applicants who did not have access to a computer with Internet," a source said. The decision to use Tathya Mitra Kendras as an interface is the first attempt to uproot the tout system.

Summary: Regional passport office, Chandigarh, on Saturday, organised a workshop for the village-level entrepreneurs, who will be operating respective common service centre (CSCs) in nearby rural areas. The main motive of this service is to expedite the passport application process and ensure transparent and people-friendly free delivery of passport services to the rural population. While addressing the gathering, Rakesh Aggarwal, regional passport officer (RPO) said more than one lakh CSCs rolled out across India to extend e-government services to rural population and through CSCs, the government of India was able to successfully deliver government-to-citizen services.
Aggarwal added that in 2013, approximately eight lakh passports were issued in Punjab. The VLCs have been authorized by the ministry of external affairs. The VLEs were trained to assist the passport applicants with filling and uploading of passport applications online, payment of the applicable fee, and scheduling of appointment for the visit of Passport Seva Kendra. All the services will be available at the fee of 100."We are confident that with regular training sessions, VLEs will be able to play a significant role in delivering passport services in a timely, transparent, and reliable manner. This is a progressive step towards establishing a more transparent system in which there will be no role of agents, who often misguide non-IT savvy rural population,"he said.
The CSCs have become the delivery points for government, private and social sector services in the areas of agriculture, health, education, banking, insurance, pension, utility bill payments, entertainment, etc. to rural citizens of India at their doorsteps. The passport-related services are being added as part of their bouquet of services.

Summary: The passport delivery system could soon become hassle-free and quick. On the directions of the chief passport officer in the ministry of external affairs, Mumbai may lead the way to do away with cumbersome processes that currently delay the issuance of a passport. The ministry is set to waive a second police verification in case of passport renewal provided the previous police verification was clear. Fresh guidelines have been issued so that a renewed passport is delivered at the quickest possible time by no longer treating the application for renewal as a fresh one, as is the case till now. Mumbai police commissioner Rakesh Maria and regional passport officer T D Sharma have put into action a plan that seeks to do away with police verification for other categories of applicants. "Minors, government servants and senior citizens can now go without verification," Muktesh Pardeshi, chief passport officer in MEA, said. "I had a long meeting with passport officials on time-bound delivery of passport. We found that on occasions, the police department was blamed for delay in submitting verification certificate. I have drafted a comprehensive action plan. The entire exercise of police verification will be completed within seven working days," Maria told TOI.
Maria said specific bottlenecks in the police verification process have been identified and stringent measures taken to ensure that the entire exercise is completed in a time-bound period. "It was bringing a bad name to Mumbai Police. In addition, there were charges of corruption too. I am sure, once the new system comes into force, passport delivery will be hassle-free," Maria said. Pardeshi told TOI, "We have directed that there should be three categories for police verification in the passport issuance process. First, there is a pre-police verification, which is mandatory for first-time passports. Second, the post-police verification, where the verification can be done after the passport is issued."
According to a senior official there was delay at several levels - from the newly set up passport seva kendra to the police station. "The delay was not deliberate, but there was lack of proper guidelines, as a result of which there was delay in submitting the police verification documents to the passport office. In the entire process, the special branch of the police station was blamed. We have worked out a comprehensive action plan, there will be no more delays and passport will be delivered within the stipulated period," he said.
Secondly, on the renewal of passports too, the ministry of external affairs has issued fresh guidelines to ensure that the passport is delivered in the shortest period. So far the convention was that if an application for renewal of passport is submitted, it was treated as a fresh application and there was police verification of residential address and all the documents. Now, it has been made clear that if the earlier police report is clear and the photograph of the applicant is attached in the original police report, there would be no need for fresh police verification. "The revised guidelines will help us in the expeditious delivery of passports, particularly those submitted for renewal," he said. However, Pardeshi said the passport issuing officer had some discretionary powers. "If he/she feels police verification is necessary, it will be done."

Summary: In his interview with Aaj Ka Anand, Mr. Atul Gotsurvey highlighted the following key points -

• Details about Passport application process
• In Maharashtra PSKs are in - Mumbai, Pune, Thane and Nagpur
• Pune PSK caters to 6 cities and accepts about 1100 applications per day
• He briefly talked about his personal background and previous postings
• Comparison of Pune PSK to other PSKs across the country - he said that Pune ranks 3rd in issuing maximum number of passports in the non-metro category
• He said that a lack of valid address proof was one of the most common reasons why applicants face trouble during the application process. More recently, the passport office has relaxed the rules by accepting the rent agreement, electricity bill, telephone bill and bank account statement as valid address proof
• He stressed on the role of TCS - informing that TCS take care of the IT, biometrics and scanning documents while the verification of the documents is done by the government officials
• The passport office has been continuously working to make the entire application process simpler by making the advance payment and getting appointment slots online. Now the applicants have to come to PSK only once and they are allowed more time to submit the missing documents. He said that one major area of concern was the pending police verification, which they are trying to streamline
• He said that the Passport office is continuously spreading awareness for applicants to never pay bribes to police officers
• The menace of touts also has considerably gone down since the application process has gone online
• The Pune PSK receives approximately 110 Tatkal applications per day, and in a bid to reduce the waiting period in the last two months, more Passport mela's are being organized

Due to economic growth more people are travelling abroad for leisure or better opportunities, and one can see a rise in travel to Gulf countries, US,UK, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and Dubai

Summary: If you've missed the chance of getting your passport issued despite taking three appointments at the passport office, here's your chance at getting the fourth appointment - the only catch being, you must provide a valid reason to the passport office. If your reason appeases the officials then you can schedule the fourth appointment from the regional office.
The decision for relaxing the rules came after the number of cases of failure to get a passport issued within the three stipulated appointments rose. As per the previous rules after three appointments if the applicant failed to secure the passport then a registration form and fee was to be submitted again thus elongating the procedure and hassling the applicant. As per passport officer, CP Yadav the rise in such cases led to the decision of granting a fourth chance to the applicants who could provide a valid reason for the failure of getting the passport issued in three appointments.
If the passport is not issued in three appointments because of incomplete documentation or any error on part of the applicant then a registration fee of Rs. 1500 will have to be paid again. On the other hand if there are any shortcomings on part of the passport office then the fourth appointment will not be charged. Passport office authorities will investigate the matter and give the applicant another chance.
amed for delay in submitting verification certificate. I have drafted a comprehensive action plan. The entire exercise of police verification will be completed within seven working days," Maria told TOI.
Maria said specific bottlenecks in the police verification process have been identified and stringent measures taken to ensure that the entire exercise is completed in a time-bound period. "It was bringing a bad name to Mumbai Police. In addition, there were charges of corruption too. I am sure, once the new system comes into force, passport delivery will be hassle-free," Maria said.
Pardeshi told TOI, "We have directed that there should be three categories for police verification in the passport issuance process. First, there is a pre-police verification, which is mandatory for first-time passports. Second, the post-police verification, where the verification can be done after the passport is issued." According to a senior official there was delay at several levels - from the newly set up passport seva kendra to the police station. "The delay was not deliberate, but there was lack of proper guidelines, as a result of which there was delay in submitting the police verification documents to the passport office. In the entire process, the special branch of the police station was blamed. We have worked out a comprehensive action plan, there will be no more delays and passport will be delivered within the stipulated period," he said.
Secondly, on the renewal of passports too, the ministry of external affairs has issued fresh guidelines to ensure that the passport is delivered in the shortest period. So far the convention was that if an application for renewal of passport is submitted, it was treated as a fresh application and there was police verification of residential address and all the documents. Now, it has been made clear that if the earlier police report is clear and the photograph of the applicant is attached in the original police report, there would be no need for fresh police verification. "The revised guidelines will help us in the expeditious delivery of passports, particularly those submitted for renewal," he said. However, Pardeshi said the passport issuing officer had some discretionary powers. "If he/she feels police verification is necessary, it will be done."

Summary: Now the citizens will get passport related services at all Chhattisgarh Online Information for Citizen Empowerment (CHOiCE) Centres operated in Chhattisgarh. In the presence of Regional Passport Officer CP Yadav, training in online operation of passport service has been imparted to the CHOiCE Centre directors who had arrived here from different parts of the State. In the training programme held at State Data Centre building, besides Yadav, Chhattisgarh Infotech and Biotech Promotion Society (CHiPS) (CHiPS) CEO AM Pariyal, In-charge of Tata Consultancy Services Passport Service Centre Ashish Hardas, Senior Manager of General Service Centre, e-Governance Service India Private Limited Madan Mohan Raut and over hundred CHOiCE agents were present.

Parial said that passport services are a significant task linked with the CHOiCE agents of the State who have got good opportunity to enhance their business. He said that conforming to the directives of Chief Minister Raman Singh and under the guidance of Principal Secretary, Information Technology and Bio Technology Department and Principal Secretary to Chief Minister, Aman Singh, this facility was being given to people for getting their passport on an 'Anytime - Anywhere' basis near their residence. Rural applicants would specially get benefit of it, he added.

Regional Passport Officer CP Yadav said that this service was started through CHOiCE Centres to increase transparency in passport preparation, in accordance with the directives of Union External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj. This would not only provide momentum to the passport service, but also residents of the remotest areas of the State also get this facility near their residence. CHOiCE agents from across the State got information about passport online service, payment etc. Madan Mohan Raut made a presentation of the project. The CHOiCE project conceptualised and developed in Chhattisgarh, had received many national and international awards in the past.

Summary: Around 1,156 applications, out of 1,249 for fresh and reissue of passports under 'normal' mode, were accepted at a passport adalat organized at the passport seva Kendra at Ashiana Mor here on Saturday.

Summary: The Regional Passport Office (RPO) has issued a circular stating that all non-machine readable (handwritten) passports will be phased out by November 24, 2015. This is the second time the RPO has issued a circular asking holders of handwritten passports, which can't be digitally read, to surrender their documents and apply for a fresh one. The circular is meant for non-machine readable passports or passports with a validity of 20 years. The last handwritten passport was issued in 2001.

The order is in accordance with the decision of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) that no one would be allowed to travel on handwritten passports. India is part of the organization. The rule, which is applicable globally, will come into effect from November 25, 2015. Countries that are part of the ICAO will not issue visas to persons holding passports that are non-machine readable or valid for 20 years.

Regional passport officer Anand Kumar said: "From 2001, machine readable passports were issued with a validity of 10 years. We are urging people who were issued passports before 2001 to submit their old handwritten passports and apply for a new one." Many passports issued between 1997 and 2000 had a validity of 20 years - or until 2017 to 2020 - but under the new rule, they will become worthless from November 25 next year.

Kumar said it would not be possible to say the number of such passports still in existence since there was no data storage before 2002 when the services were computerized. "It is difficult to say how many passports were issued during 1997-2000. On an average, 30,000 passports were issued in a year then by the RPO, Patna, which works out to around 90,000 passports from 1997 to 2000." From November 25, 2015, onwards, foreign governments may deny visa or entry to any person travelling with a non-machine readable passport. The RPO issued a circular last year regarding this, but till now the office has received less than 1,000-odd applications from persons wishing to give up their pre-2001 passports. "The number of old passport holders' figure will be higher but due to lack of awareness of the deadline, people are not approaching the RPO."

Kumar's statement was borne out by octogenarian Ram Gulam Sahu and his wife Rampari Devi, both of who carry passports issued in 1998 and valid for 20 years. Neither was aware that their passports would become useless by November 25, 2015. Sahu, a retired chief engineer in the irrigation department, said: "I didn't know that my passport's validity is till 2015." For enquiries, passport holders can contact the Passport Seva Kendra at Ashiana More from 10am to 1.30pm on any working day or the RPO at Maurya Lok. Alternatively, they can call on 0612-2223267 or dial toll free 1800-258-1800.

Summary: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj today stressed the need for ensuring timely, effective and accountable service delivery of passports and focusing on the "last man in the queue". Inaugurating a three-day Passport Officers' Conference here, Swaraj impressed upon all stakeholders to brain-storm for further simplification of processes and procedures and to do away with the redundant ones.

The Minister expressed satisfaction at the efforts of Central Passport Organisation (CPO) in reforming the system but felt there was much more scope for improvement. The reformative measures must focus on the concerns and welfare of the common man - the last man in the queue, a statement by the Ministry said. "Moreover, the utmost need, in this age of information, is to keep the passport applicants informed of the status of their applications so as not to cause anxiety to them. Speed and efficiency should be the motto of Passport Seva," she said. The Minister expressed government's resolve to introduce citizen-friendly administrative reforms and policies aimed at restoring faith of the people in the system and bringing visible change in their lives.

The Minister asked the passport-issuing authorities to serve the public with courtesy and empathy and not to take passport issuance merely as routine official duty as the word 'Seva' itself connotes selfless service with humility. The Minister impressed on the need for good governance by ensuring timely, effective and accountable service delivery, the statement said. Thirty seven Passport Officers are participating in the Conference.

Summary: The days of chasing (and 'obliging') a cop for passport verification are coming to an end as the government plans to set timeframes for the delivery of 214 more public services. It's been more than two years since 116 services offered by 24 departments were made time-bound, and the proposed increase will go a long way in making the capital a citizen-friendly place. Some of the important services that will be made time-bound are: issuance of FIRs, mutation of property by the municipal corporations, removal of obstructions from roads, and replacement of manhole covers in NDMC areas.

The law governing time-bound delivery of services (Delhi Right of Citizen to Time Bound Delivery of Services Act 2011), prescribes penalties for officers who harass the public with delays. It also gives the harassed applicants a right to compensation. Although service delivery has improved as a result, certain departments still have a long backlog of applications. At last count, more than 60,000 service requests had extended beyond the service delivery timeframe. Also, of the 82-lakh people who have applied for services since the law came into force, 4.58 lakh are eligible for compensation. However, nobody has claimed the money, reflecting people's lack of awareness.

The law entitles an applicant to a compensation of Rs 10 for every day the service sought is delayed, but the total payout cannot exceed Rs 200. This amount is deducted from the salary of the official at fault. LG Najeeb Jung has given in-principle approval for bringing the 214 additional services under the service-level agreement and the government's information technology department, which monitors the electronic platform (e-SLA) on which such services are registered for real-time supervision by department heads, has started the integration process. The trial phase will begin once the departments are able to upload their data to the platform.

The timeframes for different services are still being finalized. For instance, the transport department proposes to issue all categories of bus passes for students, the physically disabled and senior citizens in one day. The higher education department may agree to issue provisional certificates and character certificates within seven days. Pension for the elderly, widows and people with disabilities may be sanctioned within 15 days, and cops may have to provide no-objection certificates for passport verification in 20 days.

Summary: The State Government on Tuesday directed the Commissionerate Police to computerize the entire police verification process for issuance of passports by July 1. Reviewing the process at a high level meeting at Secretariat here, Chief Secretary JK Mohapatra said since around 80 per cent of passport applications come from Cuttack and Bhubaneswar commissionerate jurisdiction, automation of the process in these areas will be the focus in the first phase while the same process will be rolled out to other areas in phases.

Passport Officer Padma Mohanty told the meeting that there has been phenomenal increase in the number of applications for passports. In the last calendar year, 78,262 passports were issued through online system from Bhubaneswar office which was 53 per cent more than the number of passports issued during 2012. A target has been set to issue one lakh passports through the online system by the end of December, she said. With police verification made online, the process will be expedited and services provided in the least possible time at par with other metro cities of the country, the meeting decided.

Among other issues, installation of computers and software, engagement of technical hands, training of police personnel and other infrastructure support were discussed at the meeting.
Special Director General of Police headquarters Sanjeev Marik, Special Secretary, Home, Lalit Das, Police Commissioner RP Sharma and senior officers from Regional Passport office and Home department were present.

Summary: The people who are living on rent face issues to produce current address proof documents while applying for passport, hence a suggestion has been made to MEA to accept Rent Agreement as a valid address proof informed RPO Atul Gotsurve. Currently there are about 12 documents that work as valid address proof and anyone can be submitted. Also one takes about 2.5-3 hours at the PSK to complete the process, Atul Gotsurve mentioned that they are working to reduce this duration. Shed outside and seating arrangement will soon be made available for the relatives of the applicants.

Summary: As many as 556 passport applicants availed the passport mela held at the Passport Seva Kendra (PSK) on Saturday. The Regional Passport Office organised the mela to expedite the application process to ease the rush for the critical document. The mela, held between 9 am and 4.30 pm at PSK, Mundhwa, processed applications of local and outstation applicants under the 'normal' category. Tatkal applications, based on verification certificates/Annexure 'F' and 'Walk-in' applicants were not entertained. The idea of passport mela initiated by the PSK has become a preferred time for applicants to get their work completed smoothly and quickly. Majority of the applicants looked satisfied with the facilities and the working of the passport mela and as they claimed it to be a good attempt to reduce the time taken to get done with the formalities.

Prakash Bhorde, (35), resident of Hadapsar said, "The process inside was smooth and fast. There were helpers available to guide us through the entire procedure. I am glad that I did not have to wait for a long time and I got my work done quickly." Jay Mehta (21), college student from Pimpri said, "I was trying to get the appointment online, however, I was unable to get the appointment. It was solely because of the mela that I could get my formalities cleared." PSK, Mundwa also processed applications of out station applicants. There were applicants from Lonavala, Sangli, Solapur were happy and content about the infrastructure, facilities and the reduced time taken to get their work done.

Dimple Mehta (36), resident from Lonavala, said, "The mela has reduced the crowd tremendously, allowing me to complete my formalities on time. The well planned infrastructure also made it easier for me to handle my baby boy who refused to leave the office after the completion of the formalities."

Summary: Issues related from 'not getting an appointment' to 'clarity on documents' will all be resolved on email. To reduce the number of times a person has to visit the PSK and to solve their queries online, the passport office has come-up with a special email service where all the queries will be resolved in a day's time. One can email their doubts, complaints on rpo.pune@mea.gov.in and special officers have been chosen to complete this task. At times no one answers the calls at Passport office or people have to go to Senapati Bapat road office to resolve queries. Earlier there use to be long queues of applicants at the Senapati Bapat road office but since the PSK at Mudhwa has started the rush has come down said RPO Atul Gotsurve. Also soon we will be installing CCTV cameras in and around the PSK so that passport agents can be caught immediately and there will be a direct broadcast of the same in my office, informed Atul Gotsurve

Summary: Passport Mela organized in Passport Seva Kendra at Ashina Digha road on Saturday. Total 1015 application accepted.

Summary: They are likely to get their passports within a week: Regional Passport Officer. Regional passport authorities issued clearance for at least 130 passport applications at the Passport adalat conducted here on Tuesday. According to Regional Passport Officer S. Maniswara Raja, a total of 317 applicants from the nine districts - Madurai, Dindigul, Theni, Sivaganga, Virudhunagar, Ramanathapuram, Tirunelveli, Tuticorin and Kanyakumari - took part in the adalat. The 130 persons, whose applications were given clearance, are likely to get their passports within a week, he said.

"We have so far conducted passport adalats for pilgrims going to Haj. This is the first time we conducted the adalat in general and we are very happy with the public response," Mr. Raja told The Hindu. Inspector General of Police (South Zone) Abhay Kumar Singh and Deputy Commissioner of Police (Law and Order), Madurai City, Samant Rohan Rajendra interacted with the applicants at the adalat.

"We complete police verification within a month. If there is any delay, it must be either because of discrepancy in names or there must be cases pending against the applicants. Other than that, if there is a deliberate delay on the part of police officials, the applicants can bring it to the notice of the superintendent of police. We will take necessary action," Mr. Abhay Kumar Singh told the applicants. The most common grievance received by the authorities at the adalat was delay in issuing passports, because of discrepancies in names found in the documents submitted.

According to Mr. Raja, it takes 25 to 30 days for the authorities to issue passport to an applicant. "If there is a delay it could be because the applicants have not submitted the required documents or there is a delay in conducting police inquiry," he explained. "In several cases there is delay in issuing passports, because of miscommunication between the officials and the applicants. Besides helping the authorities clear the backlog, the adalat also paved way for interaction between the staff and the applicants," he added.

The authorities are planning to conduct the next adalat in three to four months, he said. The Regional Passport Office in Madurai processes not less than two lakh applications every year, according to passport authorities.

Summary: Six months after the online police verification was started for passport applications, processing of applications has reached a new pace with about 600-700 of them being verified by a single police station every day. Few smaller police stations process about 200 applications a day. Zone 4, which has eight police stations, processes about 3,000 applications in a month.

This speed is compromised when man power is less in times of law and order situations or VIP bandobast, said Manoj Patil, DCP Zone 4. Discussing the challenges faced by the police department while verifying the applicants' background, Patil said. "People often don't mention their address properly. These are policemen who go searching for address and they are not postman to know every nook and corner.' Nearest Landmark' is a very important part of the address and people have failed to understand this.

Summary: The Passport Office, Pune has declared that applicants with shortfall of one or two documents will not be rejected or sent home. Instead, they will be allowed to undergo the biometrics and an issued a token. However, their passport will be kept on hold until they submit the requisite documents later. Earlier, if an applicant missed out on bringing a single document, he/she would be sent back and they had to take the appointment again.

The deficient documents can now be submitted/ verified on a later date and the passport will be issued to them. This facility is not applicable to tatkal passport applications and those participating in passport melas. It is applicable only to regular applicants. However, applicants with a lot of problem in documentation will still be turned back and this initiative does not mean that submission of any documents is waived off for passport.

This will regulate the workload on the 39 member team of the Regional Passport office, Pune, to entertain close to 1100 applicants daily. Regional Passport Officer Pune, Atul Gotsurve said," It will reduce the load on biometric systems. The same applicants need not enter the appointment cycle twice and this will reduce the burden also. The granting officer and verification officers will be able to serve people in a much better way with the reduced load."

On an average, Pune passport office deals with 1,000 appointments in a day, in addition to 100 walk-ins from senior citizens physically handicapped and minors. About 70 applicants got rejected due to missing documents every day. This is expected to further minimize the time taken for processing the passport, in addition to the online application and police verification initiatives.

Summary: With Hyderabad being the joint capital till 2024, the RPO here would continue to issue passports for both States. It is difficult to find out the first person to have taken the passport under the Telangana State. The first passport in the new State of Telangana was issued on Monday. The applicant had, however, mentioned Andhra Pradesh as his home State in the application form. Officials said the software automatically changed the name of Andhra Pradesh to Telangana when the passport was being issued and printed in the new State.

Most passports that had Telangana printed in the space assigned for 'residential address' - on the second last page of the document - were those that were applied under the 'Tatkal' scheme. 'It is difficult to find out the first person to have taken the passport under the Telangana State," an official said. With Hyderabad being the joint capital for Telangana and Andhra Pradesh for the next 10 years, the Regional Passport Office (RPO) here would continue to issue passports for both States as per instructions of the Central Government, an official said.

However, Vishakapatnam in the residuary Andhra Pradesh too has a passport office serving the needs of the five north coastal districts - West Godavari, East Godavari, Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram, and Srikakulam. It was opened in January 1997 by bifurcating the RPO in Hyderabad. "Vishakapatnam may be asked to cater to the needs of entire Andhra Pradesh in future," an official said. Though the RPO Hyderabad issues passports for other districts in Telangana, as well as the Rayalaseema area, the applicants can submit their applications in Passport Seva Kendras in various parts of the two new States.

Summary: The External Affairs Ministry organized a passport mela on Saturday for out-turn passports in the regular category. 575 passport applications were submitted on Saturday out of which 418 applications were accepted and sent for police verification.

Summary: India has a total of 77 Passport Seva Kendras out of which 7 PSK's are located in Maharashtra (including Mumbai, Thane, Pune, Nasik and Nagpur). Mumbai alone has 3 PSK's in Lower Parel, Malad and Andheri falling under the Regional Passport office Worli. The Ministry of External Affairs has appointed TCS to handle the online process for the passport application. The passport applicants can visit the official website www.passportindia.gov.in for registration. It has become mandatory to have an online appointment beforehand. This can be done by paying an online advance payment of INR 1500 through debit or credit card and alternatively through challan at State Bank of India. The next step is for the applicants to visit the PSK with all the required valid documents and the appointment letter. Applicants then submit their documents which undergo verification, post which the original documents are returned and they are issued tokens and thereafter they have to wait for their turn for further process. The PSK has three counters named A, B and C. The original documents are scanned and the picture of the applicant taken at the counter A. The original documents are then verified at the counter B by the government officials. The granting officer then after reviewing the documents decides whether the passport should be issued or not. The respective PSK's sends all the documents to the regional passport center for the further processing and is further sent to the respective police stations for verification.

Summary: Over 80 people participated at the passport adalat organized at its regional office at Maurya Lok Complex on Friday morning. People, who had applied for passport till March 31 bit had not received it, came to place and most grievances were redressed on the spot, claimed a press release issued by the acting Regional passport Officer S.K. Singh on Friday.

Summary: Applicants for passports must furnish complete and factually correct information about their places of residence over the past one year from the date of applying to avoid not only a delay in delivery of the document, but also a penalty. The Regional Passport Office at Mundhwa has issued the same advisory to outstation students applying for a passport in Pune.

Delayed and adverse police verification reports were found to be the biggest reasons for putting off passport issuance by the Pune RPO. Failure to mention previous and current addresses can lead to imposition of penalty up to Rs 5,000 for suppression of facts. Passport applicants from Pune, Satara, Ahmednagar, Solapur, Sangli and Kolhapur (coming under the jurisdiction of the Pune RPO), must give complete information of every place where they may have resided in in the past one year for a favorable and timely police verification report (PVR).

Students from other cities and towns applying for a passport from Pune are required to mention their current address in the application. For proof of residence at their hostel/ place of stay, students must provide a letter from the principal/ warden or proof of residence of the guardian with whom they are staying along with the guardianship affidavit. Proof of their parents' address indicating permanent address also needs to be submitted.

Regional Passport Officer Atul Gotsurve said approximately 60% of the applicants' complaints he handled about delay in the issuance of passports are related to police verification reports. "Police will give an adverse report if the applicant has withheld information about his places of residence over the last one year. This invites a penalty. Students' applications are also in the same league. We don't want to burden them, but we have no choice as the rule is equal for all applicants." Awareness about this aspect will be done through All India Radio and television.

Summary: The regional passport office in Amritsar organized a Lok Adalat to settle the complaints against the pending passport applications. Out of the 170 passport applications, 120 cases were resolved. Regional Passport officer Mr. J S Sodhi said that the applicants were summoned by sending them a letter. Most of the cases resolved at the Lok Adalat were pertaining to divorces, adoptions or deportation. The writer is Principal Consultant & Head - Technology, Passport Seva, Ministry of External Affairs

Summary: Governance is all about understanding the social, economical, institutional and political issues closely and achieving improved livelihoods, environmental sustainability and strengthened resilience. In our country today, we are experiencing lack of accountability, transparency and good governance, when it comes to implementpation of various schemes, programmes and projects. Government departments are still struggling with 18th century regulations, policies and processes wherein technology has advanced into its 21st century. Clearly, such wider gaps are creating troubles towards leveraging of technology for betterment of the masses.

Today, ICT increasingly permits information to simmer up from the ground zero and filter through more dispersed and competitive sources which helps in better decision making. Some of the key changes and innovation in better governance can be experienced through use of ICT, such as:

• Citizens engagement and dialogue tools to generate concrete know-how that empowers, build capacities and facilitates different modes of learning
• Livelihood improvements and change processes with special emphasis on institutional dynamics and mechanisms
• Analysis of politics and policy processes including cross-scale, cross-functional and multi-level interactions
• Innovative knowledge sharing with an array of stakeholders and policymakers on the impact of action plans, government decision processes, practices for sustainable development
• Assessment, monitoring, evaluation and learning that encourages participative way of government-citizen relationship.

In a bid to create such ICT platform, the government is progressing well as part of National eGovernance Plan (NeGP). We have created network and communication infrastructure. Government departments have started focusing on ensured service delivery approach in the form of mission-mode-project and have started leveraging ICT for data consolidation, process re-engineering and automation, ensuring better service delivery with accountability, speed and transparency.

Time has come, where government departments would look for more private participation in terms of investment, capacity planning and infusion of ICT towards sustainable service delivery to its stakeholders and masses as a whole. The more we progress towards making our system, establishments and institutions accountable by means of RTI, Electronic Service Delivery Bill and Citizen Charter etc, more would be the requirements of ICT and would play a pivotal role in bridging these gaps. The real issue of the masses are illiteracy, backwardness, hunger and non-considerate of citizen rights. The idea is, can we provide a platform where the political, executive, judiciary and other institutions and establishments can perform their duties blend with preciseness, conscientiousness and rapidity?

The answer is yes. ICT may be used strategically to deliver citizen centric government services and to strengthen democratic governance. Application of ICT may be seen to address real and urgent governance problems, particularly in building local government capacity, reducing and preventing corruption and nurturing business friendly environments.

What I strongly believe is, we need to have immediate platform and podium through the presence of ICT and good governance that would help build meaningful and laudable outcome for the beneficiaries and masses as a whole.

Golok Kumar Simli The writer is Principal Consultant & Head - Technology, Passport Seva, Ministry of External Affairs

Summary: A Passport Mela was organized at PSK Ashiana Digha road on Saturday, 17th May, 2014. 1084 cases were resolved in Passport Mela.

Summary: The manual process of sending passport verification files to police through the postal department would soon become passe. From May 20, the applications would be sent online to district police headquarters with IT infrastructure. The objective of the online system is to ensure faster delivery of passports.

Having drawn flak for inordinate delay in police verification of aplications, the regional passport office recently approached the state government to make the process online. "The manual postal transfer of applications to the police would be done away with the proposed establishment of a direct online link with the passport office," regional passport officer Padma Mahanti said.

Hi-tech computer cells have been set up in state police headquarters, special branch, commissionerate of police building and district police headquarters for the purpose. More than 50 police personnel have undergone training in passport verification software, sources said.

In the proposed online facility, SMS alert will be sent to an applicant on the date on which police verification file reaches the district police headquarters. Subsequently, the applicant will be updated when the unit sends the file to the police station concerned for verification. "The applicant will also be informed the date on which the police station sends back the verification application to the district police headquarters and the headquarters to the passport office," a police officer said. The regional passport office here dispatches nearly 72,000 passports in a year.

Summary: The Regional Passport Office has sought help from the city police to tackle the menace of illegal touts and agents who extort a lot of money from applicants for securing appointments at the Passport Seva Kendra (PSK), among other assurances.Regional Passport Officer (RPO) Atul Gotsurve has written to the police commissioner requesting to increase police patrolling around the PSK in Mundhwa and the regional office on Senapati Bapat Road to catch people indulging in the illegal practice.

"It is a vicious cycle which needs to be broken. We are doing everything possible to end this problem. We want all the information about the whereabouts of such agents, their modus operandi and websites," Gotsurve said.An advisory has also been put up on the city page of the Passport Seva website, the passport office and the PSK appealing to the citizens to discourage such agents. Many passport applicants have complained about being cheated by such agents.

"Members of the public are advised to desist from dealing with touts/ agents who may be charging exorbitantly for their service and further, may be making false promises about arranging assured urgent appointment or faster passport service delivery. After the launch of Passport Seva Kendras, the appointments are available to the general public through the website. Alternatively, certain categories of applicants are allowed to walk-in without appointment, details of which are available on the website. The government has not authorized any intermediary / representative to undertake such activity or to give such assurances," reads the advisory.

Gotsurve said agents are thriving because of the growing demand for passports and that only a fixed number of appointment slots are released daily. "People should not pay money to these agents and, instead, should take part in the Passport Melas, which is regularly organized on weekends to help the applicants of both normal and Tatkal categories. Illegal agents not only fleece money, but also mislead and harass applicants," he said.

Summary: In order to address the grievances of the applicants, the regional passport officer organized the 4th Lok Adalat in this year. According to Passport Officer J.S. Sodhi, 360 out of 500 applicants came for the adalat out of which 290 applications were approved. In several cases a total of Rs.60000 penalty was also imposed.

Summary: The passport office issued more than 56 thousand passports in the month of the March. The hard work and dedication of the employees had made this achievement possible.

Summary: With the revised and improved passport application services, gone are the days when the applicants had to resort to agents to get their passports made. Anybody can get their passports made by following simple procedure of online application and appearing in the PSK within 90 days to submit their documents. One can download the E-form from the passport website and can fill in all the details. After paying the passport fees online, the applicant can choose the appointment date. The online fees can be paid online by credit and debit card along with alternatively submitting the bank draft.

Summary: The Ministry of External Affairs, along with CSC e-Governance Services India Limited {which is promoted by the Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DeitY)}, is all set to launch Passport related services through the vast network of over one lakh Common Services Centers (CSCs) across rural hinterland. The initiative would largely bridge the digital divide in the country. The CSC Scheme was approved by the Government of India in September 2006 for setting up of 100,000+ (One Lakh+) Internet enabled centers in rural areas under the National e-Governance Plan (NeGP).

Summary: The local passport office organised a 'bhumi pujan and ardas ceremony to begin the construction of a new Regional Passport Office building at the District Shopping Centre, Ajnala Road, here. The foundation stone for the building was laid by JS Sodhi, passport officer, Amritsar, in the presence of officials and staff of the passport office and the Passport Sewa Kendra. Sodhi said the contract for the construction of the building had been awarded by the Government of India, Ministry of ExternalsassaAffairs, New Delhi, to the National Buildings Construction Corporation Limited (NBCC), a Government of India enterprise for Rs 16,21,26,000.

Summary: Nasik Printing press has made passport booklets available to the Passport Department. 16,500 passbooks have been made available yet the demand is for 20,000 more. The Department aims to issue 7,000 passports per month.

Summary: The shortage in Passport Booklets is over and printing is back to normal. Due to the shortage about 5000 in Delhi, 6000 in Kolkata and about 4000 passports in Chandigarh were pending. But now the shortage has be resolved, the printing is back to normal and the applications that came back after police verification will get printed regularly.
"We are trying various ways to provide better service, one such initiative that we have started is that a lot of people are sent back due to incomplete documents and have to take appointments again, but now on they will be requested to bring the remaining documents and submit in the next 3 days", said Mr. Singh.

Summary: The ministry of external affairs (MEA) has proposed a four-point programme to address repeated complaints from applicants who find it difficult to secure an appointment at the Passport Seva Kendra (PSK) in Mundhwa.
The Regional Passport Office (RPO) will respond to the MEA after assessing the feasibility of the proposal.
The ideas proposed by the passport division of the MEA include procedural changes in the way normal and Tatkal applications are accepted, organizing more passport camps and even altering the district-mapping of the RPO. According to the ministry, the suggestions can help increase the processing capacity of the RPO which will enable them to entertain more applicants in their 50-day appointment cycle.
The proposal was put forth by Anil Kumar Sobti, director of the passport division in the MEA, during his visit to Pune last week. "We have proposed a number of solutions which can help solve problems at the Pune RPO to a great extent. Many of the suggestions have been tried and tested at other centres in the country. The decision about implementation can only be taken by the RPO after considering all prevailing factors," Sobti said.
The Pune RPO is analyzing each proposal in detail and is gathering feedback from duty officers, who will implement the changes. "Limited manpower is a major concern as I don't want to burden my team with more than what they can handle. Any directive from the ministry, however, will be followed by all of us and we are trying to iron out all practical impediments," Pune RPO Narendra Singh said.
On their part, the RPO has decided to grant police clearance certificates as soon as soft copies are uploaded by the police. "Earlier, we used to wait for the hard copy to arrive, which delayed the entire process. We have decided to change the system for the benefit of applicants," Singh said.
The MEA's proposal has received a positive response from activists, who had campaigned for better services in the past.
"The proposition can help improve the system at Pune RPO. The online appointment system too is working smoothly. If the officials want to clarify their doubts and verify suspicious cases, I do not see a reason why anyone should object. People should abstain from approaching agents," activist Vijay Kumbhar said.

Summary: The Regional Passport Office has initiated a number of steps to ensure faster delivery of passports to applicants, the latest one being the organization of a passport mela to deal with the heavy rush of applicants. Passport applicants generally complain that they have to wait for a long time to get an online appointment. People have raised concerns about this and have asked to sort out the problem. Regional Passport Officer JS Sodhi said, "The passport office and Passport Seva Kendra is usually closed on Saturdays. However, we have started working on Saturdays to help more people in getting their works done." The office has decided to organize a passport mela on March 29 at the Passport Seva Kendra. The office will deal with normal and fresh/re-issue category cases only. Sodhi said an additional working day would help in facilitating the people waiting for an appointment. Earlier, the passport office had organized Lok Adalats to clear the pending cases. The passport office had called all applicants to visit the office along with required documents so that their cases could be decided on the spot. Sodhi said all the pending files had been cleared and it would be ensured that no file is kept pending in future.

Summary: 1137 applications for fresh / reissue of passport were accepted in passport mela held on 29th March.

Summary: The ministry of external affairs (MEA) is looking into the issues raised by Tatkal passport applicants from the city regarding difficulties in securing appointments through the Passport Seva website, senior government officials told TOI on Monday. Applicants have complained about the website hanging minutes after the release of appointment slots and alleged that there is a nexus between passport agents and passport officials regarding Tatkal appointments. However, Anil Kumar Sobti, director of the passport division in the MEA, clarified that the system was tamper-proof. "The Passport Seva website is computer-automated and cannot be 'fixed' according to one's wishes. Moreover, after the introduction of the appointment cancellation/ rescheduling facility, the blank slots are now automatically added back to the total available quota and are accessible to all applicants," he said. Sobti added that the Passport Seva project was awarded the information security award at the SecureIT 2014 meet held earlier this month in New Delhi. The award was in recognition of the project's creation and functioning in a secure environment of data security and cyber security, including a robust framework for protection against threats. "We have heard of many attempts made to hack into the website, but I can assure everyone that it's completely safe," Sobti said. Sobti was also critical of the misuse of the Tatkal facility by applicants in Pune. "Despite the pre-payment system, there continues to be a 20% dropout of applicants from scheduled appointments at the Passport Seva Kendra in Mundhwa, including those under the Tatkal category. The tendency to go through Tatkal as a shortcut, and incorrect and incomplete documentation by many applicants also denies genuine applicants an appointment slot," he said. He assured that all measures were being taken to review the accumulated demand of Tatkal passports in Pune so that the backlog could be cleared at the earliest. Passport applicants, meanwhile, continued to narrate their frustrating experiences with the website. "We were trying for a Tatkal appointment from March 1, but couldn't secure one as the website would hang within a few minutes after the slots were released at noon. Agents we spoke to promised to get me an appointment for a fee ranging from Rs 2,500 to Rs 9, 000, but that is not the route I want to take," said Uddhav Pawar, an applicant from Aundh. Pawar said that more slots could be added to the daily quota to tide over the demand.

Summary: MEA adopted the online passport application procedure to make the passport process smooth. But keeping in mind of the rural and the uneducated population, 10,000 'Citizen Help Centres' would be setup. At these centers the forms will be filled up for a fees of Rs. 100. These centres have received a good response in Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand and will be available in Maharashtra from next month. These centres that provide various types of help to the citizens will also offer the passport online submission help to citizens. Since the last year the MEA has made the passport process online and the payment process has also been made online since the last six months. For the people who have access to internet it is a bliss, but a lot of people who do not have computer literacy use the illegal way by going to agents, where they are cheated. Hence the process of providing assistance for passport has been initiated at the citizen help centre. From April/ May this facility will be available at Pune, Satara, Sangli, Kolhapur and Solapur.
PSK mobile Van not possible:
To cater to the issue of applicants facing difficulties due to lack of documents the MEA had proposed a Mobile PSK but due to some technical issues this proposition will be difficult. This information was provided by Mr. Anil Kumar Sobti.

Summary: More than 300 passport aspirants managed to get their applications processed under the Tatkal category at a special passport mela held at the Passport Seva Kendra in Mundhwa on Saturday. The mela, organized to expedite the application process was conducted between 9.30 am- to 4.30 pm and saw 327 applicants visiting the PSK. In view of the high demand for Tatkal passports Total 400 appointment slots had been released for Saturday. Uddhav Pawar who availed of the mela to renew his mother's passport said, "We had been unsuccessfully trying for an appointment since March 1. Agents were asking for exorbitant sums of money just to help us secure an appointment. Luckily, we managed one in the mela and availed of it. I will try to also get my father's application processed next week. The passport office should think of ways to make the appointments available on a day to day basis instead of having to resort to such measures". Another applicant, Arti Karkhanis said, "It was extremely frustrating to wait endlessly for an appointment as the quota released on a daily basis would finish in just a few minutes. I managed to submit my application in the mela today and the staff there was helpful and courteous". Regional Passport Officer Narendra Singh expressed satisfaction with the response the mela had generated. "The mela was a success and we managed to process 300 plus applications under the Tatkal. Being a Saturday, verification of some applicants could not be completed as offices of people who had vouched for them were closed. We will be completing all that work in our back-office on Monday," he said. Applicants under normal and walk-in categories, those seeking Police Clearance Certificates (PCC) and those whose applications have been put on hold were not allowed to apply through this special passport mela. A similar passport mela only for Tatkaal applicants will also be held on March 29. Tatkaal passport seekers need to register on the Passport Seva website, upload all documents, pay the requisite fees online, and generate the Applicant Registration Number (ARN) after booking an appointment slot. The online appointments will be available from noon on March 27.

Summary: Today passport is on our fingertips. The interest UPA government showed in this has been helpful to lakhs. Now, they don't have to wait months for a passport and they are not exploited by agents. Voters thank UPA government for implementing a system where passport is delivered in a few days after applying. By introducing biometric system the misuse of passports has been reduced. Many were arrested due to actions of agents like changing date of birth or changing photographs. No cases have been registered yet in the new passports. The influence of E Ahammad in implementation of the new method has to be emphasized.

• Online application was introduced
• Passport adalats were held
• Passport seva project was implemented
• E passport was introduced. 77 passport seva Kendras were opened under 37 passport offices across the state
• In Kerala passport seva Kendras were opened at Kochi, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Trivandrum, Alappuzha, Kottayam, Thrissur, Ernakulam, Kollam, Neyyatinkara, Vazhudacaud, Payyannur, Badagara and Kannur.

This has brought drastic change in Kerala. Orders for more Passport Seva Kendra's in Kerala has already been given. Due to globalization the number of people travelling abroad increased and the need for passport increased. The passport Seva project was approved in 2007. It was joint sector undertaking under e-governance and with the introduction of seva project people got their passports in very short time. The complaints of loss of jobs from various parts of the country decreased. The system benefited Kerala the most as Kerala issues the most number of passports and in Kerala it is led by Malappuram. That is why there is a rush at Malappuram. It was considering this rush and the decision was made to set up another passport seva Kendra in Tirur. Passport seva Kendra began as a pilot project in Karnataka. A 24 hour call center was also set up. Changes also came in the printing of passports. They have been made electronic so that adulterations may be found easily. Old complaints were solved through Melas and Passport Adalats. In 2012 more than 33584 applications were processed through Adalats. In the last two weeks 1,75,567 applications were processed and 1,97,788 passports were delivered. In 2009 50.28 lakh passports were delivered. There has been great increase in the revenue through passports too. In 2009 if it was 68505 crores, in 2010 it became 924.41 crores. Passport Cells and speed post counters were set up in every district with the increasing number of applications. Police verification and other services were provided there.

Summary: As part of a special drive to clear pending applications, the Hyderabad Passport Office printed 34,000 passports in the last few days and dispatched 32,500 despite there being two successive holidays on Sunday and Monday. Sirish, in-charge of the printing and processing section, said that it was the highest number of passports printed in any passport office in the country last week and the Passport Officer, Srikar Reddy, complimented the team for its efforts. Passports are dispatched the same day for people applying under the 'tatkaal' scheme, he said. However, there is shortage of Jumbo passports and applicants in urgent need of passports can apply for ordinary passports under the 'tatkaal' scheme, he said.
Highest number of passports printed in any office in the country last week.

Summary: Passport applicants, who have no immediate/emergency travel plans, should refrain from applying through Tatkal, said a statement issued by the Regional Passport Office on Wednesday. The appeal follows 10% increase in the daily Tatkal quota announced last week and repeated complaints received by the passport office regarding non-availability of appointments. The RPO now gives 110 appointments a day in the Tatkal category. Santosh Gopalkrishnan, a complainant, said, "Getting a Tatkal appointment in Pune is extremely difficult and frustrating. I had to forego my emergency international travel as I could not manage to get a timely Tatkal appointment for my passport renewal even after trying for more than two weeks. The website hangs at crucial time. Either their server cannot bear the load or there is a collusion between agents and officials at the highest level." RPO Narendra Singh said, "Increasing the daily quota by 10 appointments is really the maximum we can do at this point. Release of appointments is controlled by a central operating server of the Passport Seva website over which I have no control." The RPO, however, was critical of the 'rush tendency' among applicants. "It has been noticed that many applicants want to use the Tatkal route as it not only gets them the passport in a short span, but also saves them the hassle of pre-issue police verification. People who resort to this measure, even if it means paying extra money, actually block the Tatkal slots for applicants who may truly need the passport in a hurry. I appeal to all such applicants, who have no pressing urgency for the document, to come via the normal route," Singh said. The number of daily appointments has been increased to 875 (from the earlier 850) to absorb more people through the 'normal' route, Singh added. The RPO also expressed hope that a second PSK in Pune will start soon, helping resolve the problem in the long-term. The viability report of the same, being prepared by the National Institute for Smart Government (NISG) in Hyderabad, is expected by the Ministry of External Affairs in the coming few weeks. Officials of Tata Consultancy Services, which manages the operations of the Passport Seva website as well as the network of PSKs in the country, have also assured to look into complaints regarding non-availability of Tatkal appointments.
Passport mela on March 29
The passport office is also organizing a passport mela at the Passport Seva Kendra in Mundhwa on March 29, where only applications under the normal scheme will be accepted. Applications under Tatkal scheme, walk-in, on-hold and police clearance certificate categories will not be entertained on the day. Appointments for the passport mela will open at 3 pm on March 24. Register on Passport Seva's website, pay the fee online and get appointments.

Summary: The regional passport office in Bangalore organized a passport mela on Saturday to expedite the process of passport applications as the demand for pending cases piled pressure from citizens. On Saturday, more than 2000 appointments were made available to passport seekers. The appointment slots to register were made available from March 10. And off the 2000, 1748 token were issued during the mela and processed. Apart from Bangalore, the same facility was open in the Hubli and Mangalore PSKs. During the previous passport mela, over 7000 applications were entertained.

Summary: The regional passport office here has decided to increase the number of daily appointments for both normal and Tatkal schemes. While the number of appointments under the normal scheme has been increased from 850 to 875 per day, appointments for Tatkal quota have been revised to 110 from the earlier 100. Also, the appointment cycle for normal and Tatkal applications has now gone up to 56 days (earlier 42) and 14 days, respectively. Regional Passport Officer Narendra Singh said, "The decision to was taken after reviewing the existing situation. We have been getting several complaints about the non-availability of Tatkal appointments. But it is not feasible to increase the daily Tatkal quota beyond a stipulated number as the applications need to be dealt with caution and urgency. Hence, we are trying to accommodate more applicants in the normal category."

Summary: The regional passport office in Bangalore organized a passport mela on Saturday to expedite the process of passport applications as the demand for pending cases piled pressure from citizens. On Saturday, more than 2000 appointments were made available to passport seekers. The appointment slots to register were made available from March 10. And off the 2000, 1748 token were issued during the mela and processed. Apart from Bangalore, the same facility was open in the Hubli and Mangalore PSKs. During the previous passport mela, over 7000 applications were entertained.

Summary: The Regional Passport Office has removed the jurisdiction of Passport Seva Kendras so that applicants can benefit and save time by taking an appointment in the PSK of their choice and convenience. The move has come after the passport officials found that applicants in Rajkot had to wait for about 40 days to get an appointment due to which their passport used to get delayed. To tackle this problem, the authorities have now removed the jurisdiction of the PSKs so that the applicants can take appointment across the state. Earlier, the PSKs had jurisdiction due to which residents of Rajkot and Vadodara had to take appointment at PSKs in their cities. Said Regional Passport Officer Z A Khan, "We found that applicants in Rajkot specially had to wait for a very long time to get appointment. To reduce the wait period, we have now removed the jurisdiction of the Passport Seva Kendras. Now, if an applicant does not get an appointment in Rajkot or Vadodara, he or she can take appointment at Ahmedabad PSKs." Says Rajkot resident Vikas Patel, 27, "This initiative would be of great help. A lot of people from Rajkot travel to Ahmedabad quite often. Hence, under emergency, people can take appointment in Ahmedabad." The PSK is one of the 27 Mission Mode Projects under the e-Governance programme of the Government of India. The project aims at delivering all passport-related services to the citizens in a timely, transparent, more accessible, comfortable and reliable manner. The verification of the applicant's personal particulars will be expedited through electronic linkage of the project's portal with the police authorities in the districts and state capitals, to reduce the delay in verification process, officials said.

Summary: The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has decided to offer an incentive of higher payments if police complete the verification of passport applicants within the stipulated time of 21 days. The respective city's police will also have to adopt the District Police Headquarters (DPH) model for verification in order to be eligible for this bonus. From July 1, 2014, Police Verification Reports (PVRs) that meet the two conditions will earn an incentive of Rs 150 each. PVRs which are generated within 21 days, but through the manual system, will be eligible for Rs 100 each and those not meeting any criteria will get only Rs 50 as payment. An earlier system awarded Rs 100 for passport verification reports completed within 21 days and a blanket fee of Rs 25 for all others. Anil Kumar Sobti, director of the passport division, MEA, said, "The DPH model is the best model to curtail delays in completion of PVRs. Our ultimate aim is to benefit the citizens". In the DPH model, passport applications received by the Passport Seva Kendra are transferred electronically to the police headquarters of the applicant's city of residence. The applications are segregated and further moved, through the online route, to the police stations concerned. After the on-ground verification of the applicant's furnished particulars is completed, the PVR is sent back to the police headquarters. It is then forwarded to the Regional Passport Office (RPO) for further processing. According to Sobti, the DPH model has been well received across the country. "Of the total 724 police districts, more than 450 have adopted the model," he said. Deven Bharti, special inspector general of police (law and order) concurred with the MEA. "It is already happening at most places in the state. I have reiterated to all my teams that it is our duty to complete the verification work on time," he said. However, MEA officials say that Maharashtra continues to lag behind states like Kerala and Tamil Nadu in the timely verification of passport applicants. "The number of passport applications received by the four RPOs in Maharashtra is the third highest in the country. But the delay in police verification of applicant details pulls the state down in terms of performance. There is an urgent need to encourage the state police to adopt the online DPH model," said Muktesh Pardeshi, MEA joint secretary and chief passport officer. While the online District Police Headquarters (DPH) model has been implemented, police stations, especially those in smaller cities, continue to grapple with even simple electronic upgrades. Kalyanrao Vidhate, senior police inspector of Kothrud police station expressed hope that the new system would help release more funds for infrastructure. "Access to faster computers, scanners for uploading PVRs and photocopy machines can speed up our work even more," he said. Meanwhile, the MEA will also transfer all payments for police verification of passport applicants electronically. In a recent letter, the MEA asked all RPOs in the state to furnish bank details of the state police authority into whose account the payments due for passport verifications can be credited via the electronic payment system. In the case of Maharashtra, it is the Mumbai office of the special inspector general of police (law and order). Till now, payments for the same were made by cheque. The MEA decision comes in the wake of changed validity rules of bank cheques which now lapse if not encashed within three months.

Summary: Around 420 applications attended a special 'Haj-Adalat' convened at regional passport office on Thursday, in which around 347 applicants received passport number. The regional passport office has also asked applicants to meet assistant regional officer SK Singh on working days to air their Haj related grievances.

Summary: The Regional Passport Office organised a lok adalat to clear the pending applications for passports here today. Regional Passport Officer JS Sodhi said 525 applicants whose files for grant of passports were pending due to any reason were called to attend the lok adalat. The passport office had posted letters to all applicants to attend the event. Sodhi said that 345 applicants turned up, out of which 272 were issued passports today. He said that the office collected a total of Rs 9,000 as penalty from the applicants. He said it was a last chance for the applicants whose files were pending for a long time.

Summary: The regional passport officer has the discretionary power to correct the date of birth wrongly given in a passport, the Kerala high court has held. The ruling by justice P N Ravindran was while considering a petition filed by Abdul Salam of Kodaly in Thrissur. His passport had his date of birth printed as October 10, 1952, whereas his original date of birth was November 5, the petition filed through advocate Mini Elizabeth George said. To prove the date of birth, the petitioner produced a copy of the school admission register and identity card issued by the Election Commission of India. In the case of persons born after January 26, 1989, extract from Register of Births has to be produced before the passport issuing authority. For those born before January 26, 1989, either an extract from Register of Births, secondary school leaving certificate, or a certificate issued by school authorities has to be produced. In Abdul Salam's case, his birth was not registered and he had also not passed SSLC examination. The court pointed out that a single bench had, in Nazar vs Union of India case of 2013, ruled that certificate issued by school authorities can be relied upon after verification to change date of birth in passports. Disposing the petition, the court directed the regional passport officer of Ernakulam to consider Salam's application for a fresh passport on the basis of school admission register.

Summary: Haj committee is giving the special attention to the Haj passport applicants. Special counters had been made. Deadlines are near, so the special counters and the attention are given at the passport sewa kendra's by the authorities. Deadline for the submission of the form is 15 March. Further those had got their passport made before 15 March would be able to go for the Haj, as decided by the authorities of the passport. Along with the passport photocopy the fees receipt should be paid also for submission.

Summary: The Ministry of External Affairs, along with CSC e-Governance Service India Limited is all set to launch passport related services through the vast network of over 1 lakh Common Service Centers (CSCs) across rural hinterland. The services would be shortly launched in pilot mode at 15 select CSC locations in Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand in the second week of March 2014. The full roll-out across the country is expected to conclude by end of March 2014. The initiative would largely bridge the digital divide in the country. CSC e-Governance Service India Limited is promoted by the Department of Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India (GoI). The CSC Scheme was approved by the GoI in September 2006 for setting up of 1 lakh-plus Internet enabled centers in rural areas under the National e-Governance Plan (NeGP). The CSCs are the delivery points for Government, private and social sector services in the areas of agriculture, health, education, banking, insurance, pension, utility bill payments, entertainment, etc., to rural citizens of India at their doorstep. The passport related services are being added as part of their bouquet of services. Under the Passport Seva, the Ministry has made it mandatory to complete the entire form filling process on-line, including payment of applicable fee and scheduling of appointment for seeking passport related services. The CSCs would facilitate filling and uploading of passport application form, payment of applicable fee (through debit/credit card or through SBI internet banking/challan mode) and scheduling of appointment for the visit to the Passport Seva Kendra (PSK) at a nominal charge not exceeding Rs.100/-. As per the appointment schedules, an applicant will have to visit the PSK for completion of application submission process (including collection of digital photographs/ biometrics, verification of supporting documents and approval). The services through CSCs would be available throughout the week, including during the weekend.

Summary: 959 applications accepted in Passport Mela at Passport Seva Kendra situated at Ashiana Marg on Saturday. A total of 1089 applicants were present.

Summary: The regional passport office organized a 'Passport Mela' at PSK Amritsar. Out of 500 appointments, only 450 applicants had come for the processing of their passport applications.

Summary: On an initiative by the Uttar Pradesh Hajj Committee, the MEA has issued guidelines to the regional passport offices to deal with the Hajj applications on a priority basis. To cater to the need of Hajj applicants, a separate window has been created at the Lucknow passport office. From the last one month the Haj committee received the Haj application in large numbers, the same was continued despite Sunday. The Application must be accompanied with the Passport photocopy as per the rule.

Summary: The Regional Passport Office (RPO) in Pune wants the police departments of Solapur, Sangli, Satara, Kolhapur, Ahmednagar and Pune districts to speed up verification process of applicants and go online at the earliest to ensure passports are delivered in time. In a letter written to police heads of all the six districts, the RPO has sought a report on the status of pending police verification reports and steps being taken by the cops to expedite the process. The RPO has told the police chiefs that delay in police verification forces many applicants to visit the RPO in Pune frequently. The RPO letter comes days after officials of the Ministry of External Affairs, who visited the Pune office recently, pointed out the need to address lacunae in the police verification process. A senior RPO official told TOI that the maximum pendency of police verification among the six districts was less than six months. The official said that this delay could be attributed to delay in adoption of digital file transfer system. So far, only Pune city police have adopted the online system in its entirety. The system allows transfer of the applicant's file to and from the RPO, to police headquarters and further down to the respective police stations via the online route. Satara district is partially digitized: the applicant's file reaches the district police headquarters (HQ) via the digital route and is then manually taken to the concerned police station. "Applicants in other districts have to endure delay which ranges from a week to 15 days. This is the time it takes for the physical transfer of files to and from Pune. We urge all districts to speed up the digitization process so as to improve their track-record. The technical team of the passport seva project is also working on providing the district police with the required infrastructure and training," the official said. The Pune police commissioner's office accepted that online transfer of files has helped them speed up the verification process. "We want to ensure the pendency doesn't go beyond the monthly-cycle limit," an official with the commissionerate said. Pune city accounts for almost 70% of the total number of applications received by Pune RPO. RPO officials said that incomplete and haphazardly filled police verification reports, especially those coming from Solapur, delayed the process further. Dilip Sawant, district superintendent of Sangli, said there was no delay in police verification. "Our staff is making extra efforts to complete the verification process in a time-bound manner. Besides, the process to digitize the department is on," said Sawant. The SP said that many a time the verification process is delayed because the applicant is unavailable. "We have registered such incidences and conveyed the same to the higher authorities. However, at no point do we keep the verification form with us. It is immediately dispatched," Sawant said.

Summary: Until the setting up of the passport office, arrangement would be made for organising passport camp in the State from time to time, said Chief Passport Officer of India, Muktesh K Pardeshi. The Chief Passport Officer was speaking at the sideline of the first two-day passport camp which began at 1st MR Banquet Hall here today. The camp is being organised by the Ministry of External Affairs, Govt of India.The number of people of the State who want passport will also be determined during the ongoing camp, Muktesh told reporters.Saying that the Ministry of External Affairs has already given its approval for the setting up of a passport office in the State, Muktesh said that necessary works for setting up of the office would soon be initiated in consultation with the State Govt. He also added that details for obtaining passport can be had from the Passport India website. Principal Secretary (Home), Suresh Babu said that the State Govt has already identified the site for Passport Office construction. The inconveniences faced by the people of the State in obtaining passport would be eased once the office comes up here. He also said that the Chief Passport Officer would be persuaded to extend the ongoing passport camp if the need arises. Suresh Babu further observed that the day was historic for the citizens of the State as passport facility is extended to them in the State. The Deputy Chief of Regional Passport Office, Guwahati and several other staff of the office attended the camp. A total of 240 people have submitted passport forms on the first day of the camp while many who missed the opportunity were left disappointed.

Summary: Passport applicants in the city have accused the Police Department of delaying the verification of applications at different police stations in the city. Thirty-two applicants are yet to receive their police verification report despite submission of the relevant documents several months ago. Nadeem Inamdar spoke to outgoing Deputy Commissioner of Police (special branch) Rajendra Mane, in-charge of the Foreigners' Registration Office and Passport Branch.
What is the process of police verification of passport applications?
The police verification process has to be completed within 14 days at the local police station. Once the verification is done, the details reach our office and it takes a week for final authentication of the records. Thereafter, the details are sent online to the passport office. There should not be any delay.
A citizens group has alleged that 32 passport applicants have been affected due to the delay in police verification?
The police verification work is directly related to the police station and the concerned police inspector is entrusted with the responsibility. Our branch plays the role of postman as it forwards the police verification report to the passport office. However, taking into account the seriousness of the issue, I will look into the matter and find the reason behind the delay for each of the cases.
What is the grievance redressal mechanism that applicants can avail of?
Citizens can approach either the Zonal Commissioner of Police of their respective areas, or my office, if they face any problem. The citizens can even send an email to pifrosb@nic.in regarding their grievance which will be addressed by our staff. Citizens can access the website of the Pune Police to find out the officers in-charge, their contact numbers and emails for their convenience.

Summary: Passport applicants who seek online appointment for submission of documents but do not turn up at the passport seva Kendra's (PSK) on the allotted day and time add to woes of those on the waiting list. If applicants with appointment fail to turn up at the PSK on the allotted day and time, they have to cancel the appointment and the slot is passed on to the waitlisted applicant. But, applicants neither cancel their appointments nor show up at the PSKs. Lucknow passport office generates 2,100 appointments everyday through four passport seva kendras (PSKs) under its jurisdiction each at Gorakhpur, Lucknow, Kanpur and Varanasi, but at least 300 appointments go waste due to no-shows at Lucknow and Kanpur. Regional passport officer, Lucknow, R N Rai, said "I have asked the service provider to find out the number of no-shows at PSKs, based on which I can send a proposal to the union ministry of external affairs asking them to increase number of appointments generated every day at Lucknow and Kanpur." To discourage no-shows, MEA asks for advance payment of passport fee at the time of seeking appointment but the problem remains. People do not cancel appointment but re-schedule it, which can be done thrice. Waiting period at Gorakhpur PSK is 45 days and at Lucknow and Kanpur PSKs, is 30 days. "In Kanpur, at least 150 applicants do not turn up on the allotted day and time. At Lucknow, it could be slightly more," said the official.

Summary: Passports will soon sport a new look, with the ministry of external affairs deciding to make the inner cover page thinner to prevent fraud. The standard passport contains 36 pages, with the inner cover page containing personal details like photo, signature, type of passport, passport number, surname, nationality, gender, date of birth, place and date of issue, and date of expiry. The front and inner cover pages are laminated to prevent modification/alteration. However, fraudsters have been removing the inner cover page, pasting a changed page thereon and laminating it. The modified page looks like a genuine one and is hard to detect during screenings at airports. Chief passport officer Muktesh K Pardeshi, who visited the city recently, explained these activities of criminals and revealed that the government is making efforts to trim the inner cover page. In case anyone attempts to remove the inner cover, the entire page would get spoiled. "Though the MEA has made several modifications by introducing latest technology like letter screen image (LIS), the criminals are using such techniques to prepare fake passports. In view of the increasing frauds, the MEA is incorporating new and additional security features," sources in the Regional Passport Office, Hyderabad, told TOI. "We have received information about the new feature, but the MEA is yet to send a communication regarding the change in the inner cover page. The MEA has started trial run of this feature and wants to introduce it within five months," the source said. Once the MEA gives the green signal, regional passport offices across the country will incorporate this new feature in passports. "The MEA is also examining a proposal to centralise passport printing," the official added.

Summary: My passport was expiring by May 2014, and I realized that one must apply for a renewal within 6 months of its expiry (Most countries require that the passport be valid for a period of 6 months after the dates of the proposed visit, which means that if a passport has less than 6 months' validity, you will not be able to visit a country even if you have a valid entry visa.) Not expecting much, I applied for the passport renewal online. Filling up the various forms took a long time, as I had to be very careful wihile filling up the form. It's best to keep your passport and other details handy before sitting down to this task. At the end of this process, I was given a date and time for the passport renewal interview, which I accepted. On the assigned date, I went to the Passport Seva Kendra (identify the most convenient one at http://passportindia.gov.in/AppOnlineProject/welcomeLink and give that as your preferred location). And though initially, there was a lot of confusion about where to go and what to do, I was able to figure the process out without much difficulty. I had also taken the necessary documents with me (in my case, just a xerox copy of the first and last pages of my passport) and after about two hours, I had completed the formalities.I also paid to register for an SMS alert. All this was done on 31st Jan 2014. I was given an id and a password which I could enter to track the status of my application. On Friday, the 14th of Feb, I got an SMS that my passport had been despatched via Speed Post. As my permanent address is another flat in the same apartment building where I live, I was a little worried about whether the postman would go there and take back the passport. However, he was redirected to my apartment and he actually came over and delivered the document to me this morning (17th Feb 2014). I accomplished the whole process on my own, without any bribes to anyone, or any help. It was a time-consuming process, and I do not know what would have happened if I had not been at home when the Speed Post arrived, but it was fortunate that I did not have to face this scenario. I would like to thank the Passport Seva Kendra for having streamlined the renewal process and made it easy for an ordinary citizen like me to renew the passport. It's a very good feeling to know that things can be accomplished without any bribe, and without much difficulty.

Summary: 411 applications were received in the passport mela organized by the External Affairs Ministry on Saturday.

Summary: Passport is a right of every Indian citizen therefore all citizens to get their documents and apply for passport, said Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde. He inaugurated the 2-day passport camp at Solapur. The RPO, Mr Narendra Singh and Deputy Collector (Solapur) Mr Ashok Kakade were also present. He also said that such camps should be held all over the country. In the 2- day camp 242 applications were processed. This system will be replicated in Satara and Sangli as well.

Summary: To expedite the application process in view of the high demand for passports, a Passport Mela was organised on Saturday from 9.30 am to 4.30 pm at the four Passport Seva Kendras (PSKs) in Karnataka. At the PSKs on Lalbagh Road and in Marathahalli in Bangalore, about 2,000 appointments were made available to passport seekers, who visited the PSK to get their passport applications processed. The appointment slots to register for the Mela were made available from February 10. On Saturday, a total of 1,768 tokens were issued during the Mela. The Passport Mela was announced to ease the rush of applicants. Many other assertive steps such as elongated appointment cycle, launch of mPassport Seva App on Windows and iOS platforms, premium SMS service (optional) were also taken by the authorities to make passport application process hassle-free. Applicants under normal category were allowed to apply in the Mela. Tatkal applications based on verification certificates/Annexure 'F' and walk-in applicants were not allowed. The applicants can keep track of their passport by checking the status online using their ARN by logging on to www.passportindia.gov.in. Apart from Bangalore, the Passport Mela was also held in Hubli and Mangalore PSKs.

Summary: When things work despite all apprehensions and doubts, it is a very satisfying experience. More so, if it involves a government department. Immense satisfaction was what my wife and I experienced when we decided to get our passports renewed last week. We were not looking forward to the experience and had put off the entire process for months. We had gone through the horror in 2008 when we had to jostle, fight and push to get our way inside the passport office. This time around with everything moving online the horror stories were only worse: "It takes forever to log on", "You have to get up at 5 in the morning and then keep trying" and "it is a nightmare" were just some of the comments that we heard. But the experience was so smooth and hassle-free that one can't help but compliment the people behind the change. Early one Thursday morning we just went online and filled up the forms. Filling up the form is tedious because of the details that one needs to fill in, like which district were you born in. Now after close to five decades of our birth we of course had no idea. After a few hits and misses we were finally able to load all the information on to the website. Technology for once was on our side! It also played a part in helping us pay the passport fee online. And in a jiffy we had appointments for the next morning - both of us at the same time even though there was a gap of half an hour in filling up and uploading the two forms. The biggest surprise however was still awaiting us. The visit to the passport office was a dream. We only saw one tout very half-heartedly offering his expertise. The staff inside the office was efficiency and politeness personified. Each one of them knew what had to be done and they did it without making the applicants feel as though they were being done a favour. In fact, some of them even went out of their way to help the elderly and those with small children. What a change! Yes, it did take an hour (even though the form helpfully tells you to keep aside two hours) but it was an experience that was well worth the effort. Digital photographs, digital signatures, incomplete forms filled and documents verified were all done with professional competence. Five days later (two lost because of the weekend) we had our passports - and that too jumbo ones as we had requested. All along we could track where the passport was thanks to the email and also SMS service (available at an additional Rs. 30). There is no denying that technology is playing a significant role in this efficiency and professionalism. The Web site is quick and user friendly and helpful, but one should not take anything away from the people who have worked to get the process to this level - and what is more important, continue to do so every day.

Summary: The regional passport office today organised a 'lok adalat' to clear the pending applications of passports. Regional Passport Officer JS Sodhi said till December 31, 2013 the office had around 520 pending applications. The office had earlier posted letters to the applicants whose applications were pending, so as to inform them about the passport adalat. Sodhi said around 330 applicants attended the adalat today out of which 300 were granted passports. He said, "Sometimes for the want of additional documents, the applications are kept on hold and when the applicants furnish the documents the passports are granted." Sodhi said the office has collected Rs 45,000 as penalty from the applicants. He said tthe applicants who could not attend the adalat due to any reason today should get in touch with the office by coming Wednesday. He said those files would be closed permanently where applicants fail to appear in stipulated time.

Summary: An online passport application registration center was inaugurated at the head post office (HPO) premises here on Monday. The HPO was one among the 28 post offices in the central region of the postal department. The center aims at checking exploitation by middlemen. At adalat and grievance day meetings organized by the Passport Office, it was noticed that many applicants were being exploited by middlemen, private browsing centers which collected anywhere between Rs. 200 and Rs.500 for registering details in the passport applications online. "This problem has now been addressed through these facilitation centers," said K. Balamurugan, Regional Passport Officer, who inaugurated the center. The fee for these services has also been fixed by the Postmaster General at Rs.70 for post offices situated within Tiruchi, and Rs.100/- for other post offices. These centers would be in addition to the already existing three ex-servicemen help desk located at the Passport Office on the West Boulevard Road and at Passport Seva Kendras in Tiruchi and Thanjavur, he added. The post offices would maintain the username and password for every applicant so that the they could reschedule their appointment and also make any changes in the forms for a maximum of three times. "The facility was not available in internet browsing centres, " Mr. Balamurugan said.
Service available at
The services would be available at the post offices in Cuddalore, Chidambaram, Karur, Kulithalai, Kumbakonam, Melakaveri, Mayiladuthurai, Sirkali, Nagapattinam, Tiruvarur, Pattukottai, Tiruthuraipoondi, Pudukottai, Tiruchi, Tiruchi Fort, Lalgudi, Golden Rock, Teppakulam, Srirangam, Thuraiyur, Perambalur, Thanjavur, Papanasam, Mannargudi, Vriddhachalam, Tirukoilur, Kallakurichi and Ariyalur.

Summary: Fulfilling the long-cherished dream of the people of Karimnagar, a Passport Seva Laghu Kendra (PSLK)(mini passport office) was inaugurated by Chief Passport Officer Muktesh Kumar Pardesi here on Saturday. Initially, it will work as a passport service camp to process passport applications and in the next two or three months it will become a full-fledged mini passport office. On the first day, the PSLK processed about 100 applications. Addressing the gathering on the occasion, Pardesi said that passport applications could be filed in Telugu through the portal http://passportindia.gov.in soon. Referring to the growing demands for passports in AP, he said that it stood fourth in the number of applications after Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Maharastra. Stating that 8 lakh passport applications had been processed in AP last year, he added that the number was likely to touch 9 lakh in the present year. He claimed that the process of issuing passports had been expedited over the last three years. Karimnagar MP Ponnam Prabhakar, who had taken the initiative to bring the PSLK to Karimnagar, said that people of Karimnagar need not go to Hyderabad henceforth to get their passports. Regional Passport Officer K Srikar Reddy said that the demand for passports had been increasing by about 15 per cent every year passport in the State. He said that the Karimangar PSLK had been set up at a cost of `18 lakh. District SP V Shiva Kumar, responding to a request from the MLAs to speed up the police verifications in the passport issuing process, assured them that such verifications would be completed within five days of submission of the passport applications. District Collector M Veera Brahmaiah assured that the district administration would sanction 10 lakh for an online enquiry facility at the PSLK. He said that about 30,000 people were going to the Gulf and other countries from Karimnagar every year.

Summary: As the external affairs ministry gears up to issue around one crore passports this year through its 38 RPOs and 180 odd embassies and consulates around the globe, Muktesh Kumar Pardeshi, chief passport officer, clarified that there was absolutely no impediment in acheiving the milestone. Only China and the USA are the other two countries where over one crore passports are issued annually. Addressing newsmen at the regional passport office here on Friday along with regional passport officer Dr Srikar Reddy, he said that the mee-seva model implemented in AP, which allows people to fill their online applications without the intervention of an agent is likely to be implemented across the country. Regarding the police verification model started in the state, which could phenomenally bring down the number of days and paperwork involved, he said, "AP has shown the way." He also informed that about Rs 103 cr out of the total revenue of Rs 1,600 cr was generated from Hyderabad. In 2013, nearly 84.86 lakh passports and other related documents were issued compared to 73.8 lakh in 2012 globally, registering a growth of 15 per cent. Srikar Reddy said Hyderabad tops the list of RPOs in terms of the number of applications processed and services rendered at 6.37 lakh and 6.3 lakh, respectively of total passport services in the country. Visakhapatnam, with 11 days, tops the list of RPOs on time taken in police verification, he added. A total of 7.84 lakh applications were received from all over AP and 7.76 lakh passports were issued. About 30 per cent of the total applications used to be in tatkal category two years back. Now, it has come down to 5 per cent. It is a phenomenal achievement and shows the efficiency of our services that most people do not go for tatkal anymore," Reddy pointed out. In 2013, Andhra Pradesh also featured at number four among the top 5 states in terms of number of passport applications received, and number 2 in terms of least time taken in police verification. The ministry has also introduced online payment system in July 2013, and has led to noticeable improvement in the availability of appointments. mPassport Seva mobile app is also available for accessing information on smart phones.
e-Passports to be Introduced Soon
Rolling out the road ahead for passport services in the country, Muktesh K Pardeshi, the chief passport Officer, said that among the new initiatives a centralized bulk passport printing centre would come up in Delhi to assist RPOs and also facsimile signatures of the regional passport officer would be printed in passports in order to save time and effort. The new generation electronic passport, which aims to secure the data and curb the menace of fake passports, is likely to be introduced by next year, he said. The e-passports will replace the existing passport document with a plastic card embedded with an electronic chip containing all the details of the passport holder including biometric information, besides a digital signature of a passport officer, he explained.
Hand-held Devices for Constables
The trial for hand-held devices for police constables, enabling online police verification at citizens doorstep is presently on in West Godavari district and now it is contemplated to start it on a pilot basis under Cyberabad Police Commissionerate here and later to other parts. The all-India average number of days taken to complete police verification is 49 and about 37 pc of the PVs get completed within 21 days. AP has been doing the same in 17 days. "RPO would sent the details of the applicant to the user ID of the constables using the devices. The device integrated with the online system would help reducing the time phenomenally," he said.

Summary: The new generation electronic passport, which aims to secure the data and curb the menace of fake passports, is likely to be introduced by next year, a senior government official said here today. "A Task Force has been set up to look into the e-passport project, which has held deliberations with different stakeholders (departments). We are planning to start issuing e-passports to new applicants by next year," Joint Secretary (Passport Seva Project) and Chief Passport Officer Muktesh K Pardeshi told reporters here. The e-passport will replace the existing passport document with a plastic card embedded with an electronic chip containing all the details of the passport holder, including biometric information, besides a digital signature of a passport officer, he explained. "In 2013, the Government of India has issued close to 85 lakh passports and other related documents globally and recorded a growth of 14-15 per cent over 2012 (wherein 73.6 lakh passports were issued). Going by this trend, we are expecting to cross the one-crore mark in issuance of passports annually by the end of 2014 calendar year or by early 2015," the Chief Passport Officer said. "It's also a great opportunity for the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) to extend one crore citizen service every year. With one crore passports being issued in a year, we will be in a group of handful of countries, with only two countries China and US which are issuing over one crore passports every year," Pardeshi said. Stating that it would be a great responsibility and opportunity as well as challenge for the passport officials, he said, "We have to scale up and expand our services and have to bring in more efficiency within our passport officials and we always have to be innovative." Regional Passport Officer (RPO) K Srikar Reddy said the trial for hand-held devices (palm-top computers) for police constables, enabling online police verification at citizens' doorstep is presently on in West Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh and now it is contemplated to start it on a pilot basis under Cyberabad Police Commissionerate here and later to other parts of the state and country. Hyderabad tops the list of RPOs in terms of the number of applications processed and services rendered at 6.4 lakh and 6.3 lakh, respectively, with 8.9 per cent of total passport services in the country, Reddy said. He added that Visakhapatnam, with 11 days, tops the list of RPOs on time taken in police verification. Country's second Passport Seva Laghu Kendras (Mini PSKs) will be inaugurated tomorrow in Karimnagar district, he said.

Summary: This time the Haj application will not be accepted without a valid Passport. The applicants should ensure that they should get their passport earlier. On Monday there was a huge line to take the application form. Over 700 Haj applications were distributed. This was told by the State Haj Committee Official.

Summary: Executive magistrates can now attest affidavits of passport applicants. In a new circular, the ministry of external affairs has stated that affidavits for date of birth proof or for change of name among others can now be attested by district magistrates, additional and also sub-divisional magistrates. Until now, only judicial magistrates and notary publics could attest these affidavits. Sources within the MEA said the decision was taken to increase options available to passport applicants. "People usually go looking for notary publics when they need an affidavit for passports. By extending the authority to even executive magistrates, we want to minimize the problems faced by applicants regarding documentation by giving them more options, including that of approaching persons holding executive offices like that of the district magistrate," an official said. Regional passport officer of Pune, Narendra Singh considers it a technical but significant development. "While not much changes for scores of applicants who usually submit affidavits attested by notary publics, it is an important clarification to all processing officers at the Passport Seva Kendra (PSK) regarding what is an acceptable proof. This is significant because arguments and verbal clashes between applicants and PSK officials over submission of affidavits certified by an executive magistrate or his equivalent as valid proof were not uncommon. Considering that the decision is based on feedback which is regularly shared with the MEA, I am sure this will further streamline the passport application process," he said.

Summary: Regional Passport Office (RPO), Maurya Lok Complex, on Friday disposed of 60 complaints at a passport adalat. The complaints pertaining to the applicants who had not received passport till November 30, 2013. RPO advised prospective applicants for Haj as early as possible. Applicants already holding passports should ensure validity till March 31, 2015. RPO has urged personas holding handwritten passports or passports valid for 20 years, which Indian Civil Aviation Organization has decided to phase out by November 24, 2015, to apply for reissue of their passports before the deadline.

Summary: Police officers who verify passport applications within 21 days will be rewarded with more cash incentives and the funds for this will come directly to the Odisha Police just as it is with the Delhi Police. The ministry of external affairs (MEA), which at present pays Rs 100 to each state cop for clearing one passport, has decided to send the money directly to the Odisha Police. Earlier, the MEA used to send the money to the treasury of the state finance department. With the money coming directly to the state police, the home department has decided to pay the cops who clear passport application quickly some money apart from the Rs 100 they are already entitled to. "Odisha Police have opened a bank account specifically for this purpose. The MEA will henceforth send the money to the Odisha Police. The money can be utilized by the police to improve infrastructure in passport clearance wings at police stations," special secretary of the home department Lalit Das told TOI. "We are planning to pay some incentive to the police officers who quickly verify passport applications. The amount will be decided upon later," Das said. Cops who fail to clear passport verification process within 21 days will not be eligible for any incentive, official sources said. Sources said the MEA had paid nearly Rs 1.8 lakh to the Odisha government towards police clearance of passport verifications in the 2012-13 fiscal. Regional passport authorities said the amount was likely to be doubled in the 2013-14 financial year. "The payment for 2013-14 would be credited to the account of the Odisha Police," a Regional Passport Office employee said. Regional passport officer Padma Mahanti said direct payment of the money to the Odisha Police would bolster the efforts of the police officers. "The police personnel would be motivated to verify more applications within the deadline if the money and incentive go directly to them," Mahanti said. "The Odisha Police can get more money when the proposed online passport verification system is launched," she said.

Summary: Complete documentation is the key to secure a passport in the shortest time. The application process at the Passport Seva Kendra (PSK) can be finished in exactly two hours, if applicants are careful about putting together all the documents required when they reach the PSK for their appointment. TOI visited the PSK at Mundhwa on January 29 to understand the litany of complaints from several applicants about the time-consuming procedure, the gruff staff and alleged ambiguity about the way through the maze of multiple checks and scrutiny. It found that while there are multiple layers of checks and crosschecks, the procedure can be straightforward if the applicant follows it through. This correspondent tracked an applicant, who was making a fresh application under the 'normal' category and could successfully complete the process in a couple of hours. The applicant had reached the PSK 15 minutes prior to the appointment, which ensured there was no long wait outside the office. Complete documentation, in original and copy, helped speed up the process further. There are problems too, mainly faced by outstation applicants who have to trek back home if they miss furnishing any document. The Mundhwa PSK caters to applicants from Ahmednagar, Sangli, Satara, Kolhapur and Solapur. There has been a growing demand to set up one more PSK in the city and mini-collection centres in districts. The other common complaint, which is of completing application formalities by applicants not fully versed in English, can also be solved by the appointment of officers at different locations in the city and districts. Vijay Kumbhar, co-convener of the Pune Passport Grievances Forum (PPGF), said they continue to receive complaints. "The number of complaints has reduced. Maximum problems pertain to rudeness of staff and police verification delays. There have been improvements, but some problems still persist," he said. However, the applicant TOI had trailed was pleased with the experience and attributed it to preparation. "I understood the procedure by going through the website thoroughly and managed to bring all the necessary documents for my appointment. The officers here check the same set of documents again and again. But it's a good system," the applicant said. Officials said they try to keep the procedure hassle free for citizens, but it can seem lengthy as a thorough screening of all documents is essential. said Anuradha Joshi, assistant regional passport officer posted at the Mundhwa PSK, said, "If applicants think that the MEA will grant them a passport in a jiffy, they are mistaken. A complete check and cross-check of every document is mandated in the system and no one can escape it. We have tried to keep the process smooth and hassle free. We extend all possible help to senior citizens, pregnant ladies or those visiting us with infants and their applications are hastened ahead of others, as are those of physically challenged or wheelchair-bound applicants," she said.

GUIDELINES

• No need to get all documents 'attested' by gazetted officers or notary publics
• Only self-attestation is required
• All originals of documents being submitted must be carried. Even missing one can stall or reject application
• Annexure 'H' is mandatory for passport applications of minors
• Furnishing the Birth Certificate is mandatory for applicants born on and after January 26, 1989

Summary: Select affidavits sworn before or attested by executive magistrates that is submitted by passport aspirants for processing their applications will now be accepted as valid documents, says a new circular issued by the chief passport officer of the ministry of external affairs. According to the latest notification, Annexures 'A', 'C', 'D', 'E', 'I' and 'L', attached with the passport application under specific circumstances, such as by an illiterate applicant as proof of date of birth, or for change of name, if sworn before or attested by an executive magistrate will be considered as valid proof. Until now, affidavits for these Annexures sworn before or attested by only judicial magistrates and notary publics were considered valid. Validity of affidavits sworn before or attested by executive magistrates for Annexures 'G' and 'K' have already been notified earlier. An executive magistrate is an officer of the executive branch, as opposed to the judicial branch, who is invested with specific powers under both the CrPC and the Indian Penal Code (IPC). These officers cannot try any accused or pass verdicts.

Summary: Looking to get your passport? You can do it yourself without going through an agent. The Passport Seva portal is easy to use and can save you money. Here's the dope on where and how to apply, the documents you will need and the process. There were days when you had to call and book an appointment, wait in long queues and go through harrowing ordeals to get a passport. Now, with online appointments and professionalised services like Saakala, the experience of getting a passport has changed in Bengaluru. Here's how you can apply for a normal passport.

Why do you need a passport?
Why would you need a passport? To be eligible for foreign travel of course. It also holds good as a valid government-approved ID card, it acts as a proof of address, it is a reminder of your heritage and can also act as proof of lineage, if it comes down to that.Jokes apart, a passport is so much more. A passport is an international travel document that every Indian citizen must be in possession of, if he/she is looking to travel outside the country.

Applying for your passport
Before you apply for a passport, make sure you read through the process and keep the necessary documents handy. The passport application form can be submitted either online on the Passport Seva portal or can be submitted at one of the prescribed locations. Of these two, the online process is more convenient.

Forms to be filled

• Application Form
• Supplementary Form
• Personal Particulars Form
• Police Clearance Certificate

The list of annexures to be attached along with the application form can be found here.

Documents required
You will need to have the following documents (originals and self-attested photocopies) to apply for a new passport. You will also need to carry this along with you when you go for your appointment at the Passport Seva Kendra office.

• Proof of date of birth (Birth certificate or certificate from any educational institute)
• Identity proof with photograph (PAN card, Driving License, Aadhar Card, Voter ID)
• Proof of residence (Ration card, Voter ID, Water bill, Electricity bill, Gas connection Bill, Income tax/Bank account Statement)
• Citizenship Document - if the applicant is a citizen of India by Registration or Naturalisation
• Government/Public Sector/Statutory body employees should submit "Identity Certificate" in original (ANNEXURE B) along with Standard Affidavit Annexure I
• If the applicant is eligible for "ECNR" attach attested copy of supporting document (see COLUMN 15 of the INSTRUCTIONS AND GUIDELINES FOR FILLING UP THE APPLICATION FORM)
• If the applicant was repatriated at Government cost, enclose documents to show that the expenditure, if any, incurred by the Government of India on his/her repatriation has been fully refunded to the Government of India, Ministry of External Affairs
• If the applicant was ever deported to India, give details of Emergency Certificate/Passport
• In case you are applying for a reissue of a passport or come under special categories (Eg: Government Employee, Resident of Jammu & Kashmir/Nagaland, etc), you will need to submit some additional documents along with the application form.
• You can find a listing of those documents that you need to fill here.

Submitting the hard copy of the Passport Application Form
One can download the Passport Application Form, fill it and submit it at the following locations:

• Any Passport Seva Kendra (PSK)/ Mini Passport Seva Kendra (Mini PSK) within the jurisdiction of your Passport Office
• District Passport Cell (DPC) of your district
• Select Speed Post Centre(s) (SPC) in your district
• Citizen Service Centre (CSC) if any, in your area

Please note that only fresh passport applications are accepted at DPCs, SPCs and CSCs. The PSKs will take all other types of passport applications as well. In case you are submitting the application form through a representative, they will also need to carry an authorisation letter. Alternately one can pick up the application form from any BangaloreOne center. Payment in case of submission must be made by Bank Draft in favour of the Passport Officer concerned or in cash. In case of DD, the full name of applicant and application number is to be written on the reverse of the draft.

• You will also need to carry three recent passport-size photographs. Please ensure that the following criteria is met while you are getting the photograph clicked.
• Size must be 3.5 x 3.5 cm
• Photograph should be taken against a light background (preferably white)
• Photograph must be in colour. Black and white photos, polaroid photos, photos with dark glasses or uniform and photos against a dark background will not be accepted
• Photo must display the frontal view of the full face

Instructions for filling the form can be found here.

Applying through the Passport Seva Portal
To start with, you need to register online on the Passport Seva portal. You can do so here. Once you have registered, login with your User ID. In case you're applying for a new passport, select the link 'Apply for Fresh Passport'. If you are looking to get your passport reissued in case you have lost your passport or the validity has expired or for a change in details, select the link, 'Reissue of passport'. The online application form can be filled in one of two ways. The first is by downloading the e-form, filling it offline and uploading it once again. The second is to fill the form online directly. The former method is recommended for those applying online. Fill in the required details and the form and submit this. The details entered in the form will be printed in the passport, so ensure that all the details are right. Keep an eye out for spelling errors, dates and initials. In case of errors while filling in the form, please make sure that you point them out to the Citizen Service Executive at the time of your appointment at the PSK. Once you have submitted the form, you will get an Application Reference Number (ARN). It is advisable to keep the ARN handy on your phone, as it can be used in the future to check the status of your application. You can do so here.

Booking an appointment
You will then need to schedule an appointment at one of the Passport Seva Kendra (PSK) offices. In Bangalore, the PSK offices are at Lalbagh and Outer Ring Road. Choose one as per your convenience for you and schedule your appointment. You will need to pay the applicable passport service fee to make your appointment. The payment can be made in one of two ways:
1. e-Payment

• Internet Banking (through SBI and associate bank accounts only)
• Debit Card (Visa and MasterCard only)
• Credit Card (Visa and MasterCard only)

2. Challan Payment: Bank Challan (payable at SBI branches in India only): In case you are making an online payment, you can schedule your appointment soon after. In case you choose to make a Cash Payment, you will get a challan. This challan should be taken to any SBI branch and the payment will need to be made in cash. The bank officer will hand you a copy of the Challan. Following this, the bank will validate the ARN details printed on the challan and the status of payment will be updated in the Passport Seva portal after 2 working days. Only once the payment status is displayed as successful, will you be able to book your appointment. You will receive an email once the payment has been cleared. An important point to note here is that once you choose the cash payment option, you will not be able to make an online payment. Once your payment has been processed, click on the tab that states 'Schedule Appointment', choose your category (Normal/Tatkal) and the preferred PSK. Once you enter these details, click on Book Appointment. Here you will be able to choose a date and time for your appointment. Following this, you will get an Application Receipt. You will need to carry a print of this, as well as originals of other necessary documents, when you go for your appointment. Do make sure you attend the appointment on the said date and time. If for some unforeseen reason, you cannot attend your appointment as planned, you can reschedule it. Please note, you are allowed to reschedule your appointment a maximum of two times within a year after making the appointment. In case you miss your appointment, you will need to go through the entire appointment process once again. Also note, that if you fail to attend your appointment within one year of applying, the payment that you have made will not be refunded.

Your appointment at the PSK office
On the day of your appointment, make your way to the PSK office. Once you are here, you will be called in depending upon your batch number. You will need to go through a security check. Following this, you will be issued a token. This works on a First-in-first-out basis and will be used for sequential processing of the application. You will need to wait in the waiting lounge till your token number is displayed on the token screen. From here, you will need to proceed to the designated Counter 'A'. Here the Citizen Service Executive will scan and upload your documents into the Passport Seva portal. Your photograph and fingerprints will be captured. Once this is done, your personal details will be printed and handed over to you for verification and signature. This is then scanned and uploaded into the portal. From here you will need to proceed to the waiting lounge and wait once again till your token number is called out for further processing at counter 'B'. Your original documents will be verified and checked here by a Verification Officer. Once this is done, you need to wait once again, till your token number is called for processing at Counter 'C'. The Granting Officer at Counter 'C' then takes a call on whether to grant you a passport or not. If the status is 'Granted' the passport printing will be initiated on a No/Post Police Verification basis. In some cases, the printing of your passport will be initiated only after a detailed police report is received. You will then need to collect your Acknowledgement Letter, which is a status of your passport application, from the exit counter. You must keep this to track the status of your application.

What happens after the appointment?
Once your appointment is processed, police verification (PV) will be done. The mode of the PV will be printed on the acknowledgement letter. The PV mode is typically set to Pre. Only if applicants belong to a special category (employees of Government/PSU/Statutory Body/Retired Government Officials, etc) will they come under the Post or No PV mode. In case of Pre PV, the verification will be carried out before the issue of the passport. This typically takes place within 3 days of issue of Police Verification Report (PVR) from the police department. In case of Post PV, the verification happens after the passport is issued; a PVR is not required. In case of No PV, no police verification is carried out.

How long does it take to get my passport?
Your passport will be delivered by Speed Post to the address mentioned on the application form. It is preferable that you are present to collect your passport. Alternately a blood relation can collect the passport, provided he/she shows the identity card showing relationship, to the postman. In case you would like to pick up your passport in person, you must take prior approval from Assistant Passport Officer (APO)/RPO. While no timelines are promised, the RPO tries to issue a passport in 45 days time. However, it could take longer, sometimes even 2 to 3 months. In case of a Tatkal passport, it takes about 30 days excluding the date of submission of application. Pasport Fees

• Passport Fees for fresh passport and reissue of passport for adults.
• 36 pages - Normal: Rs.1500, Tatkal: Rs.3500
• 60 pages - Normal: Rs.2000, Tatkal: Rs.4000

In case of reissue of passport due to your passport being lost or damaged, if the passport validity has not expired, the fees are as follows.

• 36 pages - Normal: Rs.3000, Tatkal: Rs.5000
• 60 pages - Normal: Rs.3500, Tatkal: Rs.5500

PSK offices in Bangalore

Passport Seva Kendra - I, Prestige Libra, 45, Lalbagh Road, Near Urvashi Theatre, Bangalore.

Passport Seva Kendra - II, Sai Arcade, Survey No. 56/P, Devarabisanahalli, Marathahalli Outer Ring Road (Opp INTEL), Bangalore.

Summary: The Hajj committee has advised that the passport process for the Hajj Pilgrims would begin from 1st February. The form will be available through the state Hajj Committee or online. March 15 is the last date for application. The passport of the Hajj applicants should be valid till March 2015.

Summary: Regional Passport Office, Ahmedabad, has witnessed a rise in passport applications in the last quarter of 2013 as compared to the corresponding period in 2012. RPO received 83,576 applications for passports between October and December, about 15,000 more than the last quarter of 2012. Regional Passport Officer Z A Khan said, "This is for the first time in last couple of years that the passport applications have increased significantly. Every year, the rise is only 5 per cent. It shows more people want to travel abroad." People going for Haj or Umrah can now apply for passports much ahead of their trip. "We started the provision last year. Also, a lot of students want to study abroad. Interestingly, the UK and the US are not countries they prefer. The students have preferred new countries like China, Phillipines and countries in South East Asia." According to RPO, around 3,39,997 applications were received in 2012. Of these 3,23,414 applicants received the passports in the same year. RPO received around 3,28,543 applications in 2011 and 3,19,746 applicants got their passports in the same year.

Summary: Digitization of the file transfer system has simplified and accelerated the process of police verification for passports across 33 police stations in the city. The system has not only helped cut down the time required for verification, but has also reduced the physical effort involved in the tedious process of on-ground verification of applicants' credentials. Glitches in software, internet-speed and operational training being faced by a few police stations will be sorted out, said Rajendra Mane, deputy commissioner of police who is in-charge of the passport verification process. Under the new system, digital files of passport applications are received, downloaded and printed by the police officer of the respective police station instead of collecting all of them at the police headquarters. Once the verification is done, the reports are sent back to the headquarters online, instead of the earlier system of sending physical copies. Paul Anthony, head constable in-charge of the police verification process at Market Yard police station, said that he is now able to send the reports back to the police headquarters in a day's time. Earlier, the process used to take him at least a week. "Earlier, we used to get about 100 applications once a week, all at a time. Obviously files would pile up. Now, I download the applications on a daily basis sitting in front of the computer. Once the files are downloaded, I conduct on-ground checks, call the applicants to the police station and send back the report. Everything is done in a day. As a result, pendency of work is never more than 15-20 applications," he said. However, some police stations, providing service to larger populations, have complained about poor internet connectivity. Problems, they say, are compounded by their limited knowledge of the software.

Summary: In a bid to expedite the passport application process, a passport mela was organized in Lucknow PSK. Lucknow Regional passport Officer Mr. R N Rai said that on Jan 18, 600 appointments were issued out of which 525 applications were submitted and processed.

Summary: The Regional Passport Office(RPO) organized a 'passport mela' at Passport Seva Kendra(PSK) on Ashiana - Digha road on Saturday. Applications for regular passport and reissuance of existing ones were accepted on the occasion. Nearly, 1,000 appoitment slots were reserved for such applicants who face difficulties in getting a slot on weekedays to submit their applications. Regional passpot officer Anand Kumar said: "Altogether, 950 applications attened the mela. We accepted the applications of 838 persons. We are also requesting all Haj pilgrims for this year to apply and get thier passports before the pilgrimage announcement is made. Their passports should be valid till March 31, 2015 and have two empty pages for visa purposes." The Haj pilgrims, who are getting appoitments at PSK after a long gap, can get a recomendedation letter from Bihar State haj Committee and meet the officer concerned at the RPO.

Summary: Exercise covered local and outstation applicants under 'normal' category; waiting time reduced. To expedite pending applications for new passports, the Pune Passport office has started organising Passport Mela. Within two weeks, more than 2,000 applications for new passports have been processed thanks to the Passport Mela, which was held on Saturday at Passport Seva Kendra (PSK). The Mela, held between 9 am and 4.30 pm at PSK, Mundhwa, processed applications of local and outstation applicants under the 'normal' category. Moreover, this time the applicants did not have to wait for a long time as the process of verification of the documents and submission was channelised. As many as 1,100 appointments were given to applicant seekers, who visited the PSK to get their passport applications processed. The appointments to register for the Passport Mela were made available from January 16 and 1,097 appointments were booked by the citizens. An official said, "The Passport Mela was announced to ease the rush of applicants. A number of other assertive steps such as elongated appointment cycle, launch of Passport Seva App on Windows and Apple platforms, premium SMS service (optional), revamped online system to make the police verification faster have been taken by the authorities to make passport application process hassle-free for citizens." Applicants were generally positive about the PSK. Harshad Shah (35)., resident of Aundh said, "I never thought getting the passport application processed will be so easy, The entire process did not take more than two hours." Mukta Pant (23), IT professional, resident of Baner said, "I got the appointment booked and there was no hassle in getting the verification done and application processed. Moreover, there was adequate place to sit, which is much better rather than standing for hours in a long queue."

Summary: SIR, It was in November 2012 that my husband and I applied for issue of fresh passports since they had become illegible. We could not travel to Dubai due to this. It was really a harassing time as we first went to the Passport Office at Brabourne Road for an observation to be marked on the passport and since this could not be done, we finally reached the Passport Seva Kendra and things started moving very fast and efficiently. I got my passport within about 10 days, but my husband's passport was held up for police verification. This was done after a few months but the track record kept showing "subject to police verification" and no passport turned up. We were at our wit's end and tried many sources to find out why the passport was not issued. Eventually, on Christmas eve, my daughter went to the Passport Seva Kendra and informed the person at the enquiry that it was over a year since her father had applied for the passport but no passport had been issued. He advised us to go to a particular cubicle and the young gentleman on duty was most polite and helpful and asked us to wait. He checked and returned and asked us if I we could wait a little longer. Then he returned to say that he had checked and the file would be released and the passport issued in about 15 days. We were not told of the reason for the delay. When we thanked him he humbly told us, "I am only doing my duty". It took us about an hour at the Passport Office. He gave us his e-mail ID and we were able to follow up with him. The passport was sent to the Kolkata GPO on 15 January and arrived the next day. We are indeed thankful to have met such a helpful gentleman.

Summary: The ministry of external affairs is planning to accept passport applications at Citizen Service Centres (CSCs), set up by the state government in rural pockets.Chief passport officer Muktesh Pardeshi, who was here on Friday to review functioning of the passport offices in eastern region of the country, said the proposed provision would save applicants the trouble of visiting Bhubaneswar. "We will soon write to the state government to accept passport applications at CSCs. It will also put an end to harassment by middlemen," Pardesh said. The CSCs offer various government services in rural or remote areas where availability of computers and internet is negligible. "The applicants will have to pay a nominal fee to the personnel, who will guide them on how to fill up the online forms," he said. Regional passport officer Padma Mahanti said the passport authorities would soon visit remote areas to accept passport applications from people. The process was discontinued after the passport office made biometric fingerprints of applicants mandatory in May 2012. "A new device has been developed, which is mobile and collects fingerprints on the spot," Mahanti said. Amid allegations of delay in delivery of passports and harassment by passport authorities, the regional passport office here issued 78,262 passports in 2013 as against 73,000 in 2012 and 53,000 in 2011. "We have set a target to issue 1 lakh passports in 2014," Mahanti said. "We never harass anyone. Delivery of passports depends on completion of police verification. Unlike other states, Odisha police are yet to make the verification system online. The manual process is taking much time," she said. Official sources said hi-tech computer cells would soon be set up in state police headquarters, special branch, commissioner of police and district police headquarters and all passport applications sent online from the passport office for verification. Currently, the applications are sent through post.

Summary: The simplified passport application and disposal process eliciting huge response, India, in all likelihood, will join China and the US in issuing one crore passports if the 15 per cent growth rate is maintained this year. While the 38 passport offices in India issued 72 lakh passports during the calendar year 2013, about 180 authorities located in embassies and consulates across the globe issued another 13 lakh. The jump in issue of passports was 15 per cent in 2013 and if that rate is sustained, India will cross the 1 crore mark in 2014, Chief Passport Officer Muktesh Kumar Pardeshi told mediapersons here on Friday. "We have received huge response from the public and are in the process of opening Laghu Kendras in North-Eastern States. Once that is done, we will be able to cover all States and Union Territories," he said. Among the States, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh figure among the top so far as issue of passports is concerned. Kerala alone issues more than 10 lakh passports a year. Pardeshi, a Joint Secretary with the Ministry of External Affairs, said the capability to issue such huge number of passports has been possible because of establishment of increasing number of Passport Seva Kendras (PSKs) aided by the simplification of the process. Asked if more PSKs are being planned in Odisha, he said a study has been assigned to assess the demand in the State and it is likely to be completed by February. Basing on the study, a decision will be taken. As of now, there is one PSK in Bhubaneswar which is operating from the Regional Passport Office and land has been allocated in the adjoining plot to set up its dedicated office. Pardeshi said the application process has become so simplified that an applicant, from a far-off district, doesn't have to make multiple rounds of Bhubaneswar anymore to get it done. Passports are being issued within a week of police verification. The Regional Passport Office is working in close coordination with Odisha Government for making police verification process available online. Of the 700 police districts in India, online police verification is done in 400. Even in Jharkhand, it's available online in all districts.

Summary: With more people now going abroad either for work or or study, the Passport Seva Kendras (PSKs) in the city are seeing a jump in applicants. As many as 3.73 lakh queued up for passports last year as against 3.29 lakh in 2012. But the number of applicants opting for tatkal is falling. While 40 per cent took the tatkal route in 2011, only 20 per cent did in 2012 and nine percent in 2013. "Not many applicants are using tatkal now as the processing time even for ordinary passports is quite short. On an average, a fresh passport with police verification is issued in 15 days," says Regional Passport Officer (RPO) C. Senthil Pandian, noting that for children below 14, government servants and those applying for renewal, passports are issued even in three days as there is no police verification involved. "Of the 3.67 lakh passports issued by the Chennai office, 40 percent went to graduates and above, 16.5 per cent to students and 5.1 per cent to government and PSU employees," Pandian reveals. Tamil Nadu, he says, has moved up to second place in number of passports issued in the country. "While Kerala leads the list, we have overtaken Andhra Pradesh to reach the second position," he adds. People too now seem more satisfied with the passport service offered. R. Deepa, who recently applied for a passport for her infant daughter, was pleasantly surprised to receive it within three days. "When I applied for it in 2000, it took more than two months for me to get my passport. But now things have become much faster," she observes, also happy with the mobile alerts that helped her keep tabs on her application.

Summary: The Chennai Regional Passport Office (RPO) takes the least time to complete the police verification process, a survey of passport offices across the country has revealed. The Union ministry of external affairs has sent a letter to the director generals of police of various States, which noted the average time taken by the RPO, Chennai, for completing the process was 19 days, soon after which the passport is issued to the applicant. The letter further stated the Passport Seva Kendras functioning in Coimbatore, Madurai and Tiruchi took more time. For example, the time taken by the Kendra at Madurai city limits stood at 42 days, whereas for the rural areas, it was 47 days. Similarly, in Coimbatore urban areas the process took 60 days and in rural areas, it took 102 days. In the case of Tiruchi, it took 30 days in the urban areas and 44 days in the rural ones. Even in Chennai region, Kancheepuram, Vellore and Tiruvallur districts took more than 50 days to complete the process, the letter stated. Passport office sources said systematic follow-up by RPO authorities in Chennai resulted in the faster completion of the verification process. Dip in Tatkal applications Meanwhile, there has been a dip in the number of passport applications under the tatkal category during the last calendar year. C. Senthil Pandian, RPO, Chennai, said, in 2012 they had received 64,062 applications and in 2013, only 33,063. The minimum time taken by the RPO to complete the police verification process and despatch the passports could be one of the reasons for applicants opting for the normal mode over the tatkal mode, he said.

Summary: Regional Passport Office, Ahmedabad, will organize a passport mela on January 18 for those who have booked their appointments. The list of applicants will be released on January 16 at 2 pm. They will have to carry their Application Reference Number Sheet and appointment details, required documents and self-attested photocopies. Tatkal, Walk-in categories and On Hold applicants will not be entertained at the event.

Summary: The mobile alert service of Regional Passport Office(RPO), Chandigarh, seems to have clicked with the officials claiming that the users have gone up from two to three daily since its launch in October 2012 to 10 to 12 now. Under the service, applicants could check the progress of their application at any point of time by shelling out Rs. 30. This service facilitates the user to get every sort of passport - related information. This is made possible by the use of Passport Seva application. This service is designed primarily for citizens interested in acquiring passport related information. It is an easy-to-use app. that provide specific details on area such as application centres, fee, application status, printing of passport, police verification status, contacts and other general information. This has brought transparency in the working and expedited our whole process, said Rakesh Aggarwal, regional passport officer(RPO), Chandigarh. This application is also very beneficial for people residing overseas. Besides, there is a feature, fees calculator; which enables users to find out the required fee based on the service and mode of submission. Uses can also track status of their passport applications using file number and date of birth. For dispatched passports, the delivery status can be tracked, he added.

Summary: The regional passport office organized a passport mela at the Passport Seva Kendra here today in which at least 500 applicants were facilitated. Regional Passport Officer JS Sodhi who was himself seen helping people at the reception counter said, The mela was organized to shorten the waiting list of the applicants. The regional passport office is facing a problem of more number of applicants which it cannot cater to on a usual working day. Sodhi said at least they have been able to shorten the waiting list by 500 people. The passport kendra here caters to the need of around 500 applicants daily. However, it is facing a manpower shortage to cater to the huge rush of passport seekers. Even the general applicants have often complained that they are facing a problem in getting the appointment for personal interviews. Sodhi said more such events would be organized in the coming days to tackle to the problem of passport seekers.

Summary: Passport application of 1,1015 applicants were accepted at the daylong Passport Mela organized by the regional passport office on Saturday at its Passport Seva Kendra on Ashiana Digha Road. A total 1132 applicants visited in Passport mela.

Summary: As many as 995 passport applicants availed of the Passport Mela held at the Passport Seva Kendra (PSK) here on Saturday. The Regional Passport Office organized the Mela to expedite the application process to ease the rush for the critical document. The Mela, held between 9 am and 4.30 pm at PSK, Mundhwa, processed applications of local and outstation applicants only under the 'normal' category. 'Tatkal' applications, based on verification certificates/Annexure 'F' and 'Walk-in' applicants were not entertained. Regional Passport Officer Narendra Singh who visited the PSK on Saturday to oversee its operation, announced that more such melas would be held in the near future. "Passport Melas are organized as per the requirement. Considering all technical and processing issues, January 4 was the only available date for conducting the same this month. I plan to organize another such Mela in February. I am sure programmes like this will help to reduce the rush of applicants," he said. Applicants who availed of the Mela said they were satisfied with the infrastructure and technology upgrade available at the PSK. "The process inside was smooth and fast. There were helpers available who guided us through the entire procedure," said Vishwanath Nachnekar, a resident of Kolhapur who attended the Mela along with his wife.

Summary: The passport application process just got more complicated. A fresh notification of the ministry of external affairs has stated that account statements of only nationalized banks will be considered as proof of residence for fresh passport applications as well as those made for renewals. The MEA, in its circular posted on the Passport Seva website, has listed 26 nationalized banks whose account statements it would accept as proof of residence. Officials said this had been done to set clear guidelines and rule out discrepancies arising in the event of applicants furnishing statements of banks not recognized by the passport-issuing authorities (PIAs). In its circular, the ministry stated that it had received references from several PIAs and passport applicants highlighting the need for the list of banks whose passbook/statement is acceptable as address proof. Muktesh Pardeshi, MEA joint secretary and chief passport officer, clarified that the intention was not to limit options for applicants. "Bank statement as proof of address is only one of the many options available to applicants. If they cannot furnish one, surely they can produce one of the others," he said.