The government is on its way to integrate all the diplomatic missions and posts into the Passport Seva Project shortly. On the occasion of the Passport Seva Divas on Monday, External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar said India would soon deliver passport booklets with advanced security features.
“It is noteworthy that the major passport issuing 25 missions and posts have been integrated [into the Passport Seva Project] during this period. We are taking steps to complete integrating all the missions and posts abroad in a time-bound manner which would enable us to deliver passport and passport-related services to our diaspora,” said Mr. Jaishankar.
The Minister acknowledged the contribution of his predecessor Sushma Swaraj in bringing new dynamism in the process of passport delivery. He said India at present had 505 Passport Seva Kendras of which 412 were Post Office Passport Seva Kendras.
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He pointed out that India was on its way to deliver passport booklets with advance security features being produced at the India Security Press, Nashik. They would have chips installed for security. “We propose to pursue the manufacture of e-passports on priority so that a new passport booklet with advanced security features can be rolled out in the near future.”
Mr. Jaishankar thanked the Department of Posts for ensuring easy availability of Passport Seva Kendras all over the country. The Passport Seva Project had been issuing one crore passports every year, according to the government and the Minister acknowledged the role of the State police departments in ensuring smooth functioning of the mechanism.