Passport Applications Exceed 1.4 Million Monthly In 2023; MEA Introduces New Plan For 2024

During 2023, the submission of passport applications exceeded the 1.4-million mark each month.

Efforts are being made by the external affairs ministry, in collaboration with police forces in states and Union territories, to reduce the time taken for police verification of passport applicants to improve the passport delivery ecosystem, according to external affairs minister S. Jaishankar on Monday.

MEA Aims to Reduce Passport Verification Time, Jaishankar Says

On the occasion of Passport Seva Divas, Jaishankar stated that the ministry is committed to ensuring that passports significantly impact the country's development by facilitating international trade and investment and enhancing global mobility.

To enhance passport services, 440 Post Office Passport Seva Kendras have been launched by the ministry, in addition to the existing 93 Passport Seva Kendras, 533 passport processing centres, and 37 regional passport offices across the country. Integration of passport issuance systems in 187 Indian missions abroad has also been accomplished by the ministry, as re[ported by Hindustan Times.

Jaishankar noted that ongoing efforts are being made with state and UT police to further improve the passport delivery ecosystem by reducing the time required for police verification.

The "mPassport Police App", which facilitates the police verification process, has been implemented in 9,000 police stations across 25 states and Union territories, he mentioned. Furthermore, the Passport Seva System has been successfully integrated with the DigiLocker system to enable a paperless documentation process, he added, as reported by Hindustan Times.

According to Jaishankar, the government is dedicated to ensuring that passports play a significant role in the country's development by facilitating international trade and investment, boosting tourism, enhancing global mobility, education and skills development, diplomatic ties, security and regulation, and legal identity. Passports also assist in crisis management, such as the evacuation and aid of Indian nationals, he added.

The external affairs ministry, along with the Central Passport Organisation, is committed to providing passport services to citizens in a timely, reliable, accessible, transparent, and efficient manner, Jaishankar emphasized. The ministry delivered 16.5 million passport-related services during 2023, with a 15% increase in passport and related services over the same period.