New Delhi: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has launched a new scheme that allows a person to apply for a passport from anywhere in India, irrespective of the place of stay.
Addressing senior officials of Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and Passport Seva Kendras (PSK) on the occasion of Sixth Passport Seva Diwas, Swaraj described the initiative as “revolutionary”.
“The new scheme allows a person to choose the Regional Passport Office (RPO) and Passport Seva Kendra (PSK) for submitting application. The application can be submitted irrespective of whether the person’s current residential address is within the jurisdiction of the selected RPO or not,” she said.
The police verification for a passport would now be conducted at the address specified in the application form. The initiative would benefit applicants who are unable to apply at a PSK near their place of residence.
“The passport will be printed and dispatched by the RPO selected for application submission by the applicant to the address specified in the application. For example, a resident of Jaipur, who is temporarily residing in Kolkata, will now be able to apply at a PSK under the RPO, Kolkata, and will not have to travel all the way back to Jaipur to submit an application for a passport at a PSK under the Jaipur RPO,” Swaraj said.
Elaborating the new passport policy, the minister said it will facilitate those willing to undertake Haj.
“I found that two things which were directly connected to the Indian citizens were a passport and visas required for undertaking Haj. The new passport rules make it easier for the Haj pilgrims,” she said.
The Minister also launched a mobile application ‘mPassport Seva App’ that would provide facilities for applying, paying and scheduling appointments for acquiring a passport.
The app is available on Android and iOS platforms
“With the launch of the mPassport Seva App, a person would not require access to a computer and printer to apply for a passport. The app supports services such as new user registration; signing in to registered user account; application form to apply for passport and police clearance certificate; paying for passport services; appointment scheduling; application availability status; document adviser; and fee calculator,” she told media.
Reacting to the new passport rules, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader, Ramesh Gupta, said they would go a long way in dealing with passport hassles faced by Indian citizens on account of unnecessary paperwork and jurisdiction limitations.
“The new passport scheme is indeed going to be extremely helpful for people who had to earlier travel back long distances to their place of ordinary stay to get their passport made. Easing of jurisdiction is indeed revolutionary. It will save on time, energy and cost,” Gupta said.
Social media also applauded the initiative by the MEA.
“After being trolled for days for granting out-of-turn passport to a couple who had an inter-faith marriage, Sushma Swaraj has come up with a great initiative that will benefit billions Indian citizens,” banker Rajiv Rai tweeted.
The Ministry is currently preparing a list of areas where new passport centres are to be opened. Currently there are 260 passport centres, which will be expanded to all Parliamentary constituencies soon.
The External Affairs Minister said several new passport centres are now fully functioning in different parts of northeast.
“Earlier there was just a single centre in Guwahati. It catered to the passport seekers of all the neighbouring regions up until now. In the first two phases, we announced 251 passports registration centres out of which 212 centres are already established. In the third phase, 38 additional centres were announced out of which two centres have been operationalised,” Swaraj said.
