India Stands As The Third Highest Issuer Of Passports In The World

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After China and the US, India is said to be the third highest passport issuing country in the world where the numbers have doubled for India just within a span of less than 6 years, since 2010. Infact from 60 lakh passports, 5 years ago the numbers stand around 1.2 crore for 2015 based on Mr. Muktesh K Pardeshi, Joint Secretary and Chief Passport Officer recent statement. But what could be the possible reason for sudden surge in numbers?

Remember those times, when you had to bribe the staff of the regional passport office with cigarettes, so that he can find your file faster? All those memories of standing in the queue in the Sun to be able to inside the building in the first place. Going day after day, to get the work done and testing your patience, like you have no other work in the World except to sit there and sulk? You don’t have to do all that anymore.

Perhaps looking at the annual report for Ministry of External Affairs for 2014-15 can throw some light on the matter. The document features details about the passport website and here are some of the statistics that make things clearer about the growth in the number of passport issuance:

During the course of 20014-15, Indian government launched an online portal called the passportindia.gov.in, meant for people requiring passport services along with other helpful details but most importantly status enquiries and application procedures. This allowed people to enjoy the anytime anywhere access, which was a tedious job to have done, only half a decade ago. This government portal is monitored and updated at regular intervals, also to ensure user-friendliness for the customer. Information is available both in hindi as well as English and information is consistently added for any important changes in the processes, etc. This is not all.

Additional passport offices meant for rural areas were also opened during this period of time known as Passport Seva Kendras (PSK). Appointment slots for passport applications, went as high as 50,000 per day. Also added initiatives in cities have been taken for police verification as well. As of December 2016 there has been a pilot project launched in Bengaluru digitizing the police verification process and making it 3 times more efficient. Now more ground and cases are possible for the police in these places than ever. With such new mushrooming ideas being implemented and then launched at a national level the number of passports in India is only expected to grow in the near future.

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