According to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, the central government is working to implement e-passport to facilitate easy international travel, provide identity theft protection and enhance data security. Jaishankar spoke at Passport Seva Divas to reiterate the government’s dedication to enhancing civic experience and public service.
In honor of this milestone, the Ministry of External Affairs and the Center Passport The organization has reaffirmed its commitment to provide efficient, reliable, accessible, transparent and speedy passport and passport related services to Indian citizens.
“It gives me immense pleasure to associate with all our passport issuing authorities in India and abroad on the occasion of Passport Seva Diwas 2022,” he said. According to the External Affairs Minister, passport services were offered even during the challenging times of the COVID-19 outbreak.
“I am happy to note that passport services were provided with the same zeal and enthusiasm, even in the testing times of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Ministry takes this occasion two and a half years of the pandemic, and With 4.50 lakh additional applications given in the last one month, an impressive monthly average of 9.0 lakh was dealt with swiftly, thus setting a record,” he said.
“As we celebrate Passport Seva Diwas on 24th June this year, we continue our commitment to provide the next level of citizen experience,” he said.
Looking back, Jaishankar said that the government has been very successful in simplifying the passport rules and procedures for citizens. “To further facilitate the passport delivery ecosystem, the Ministry is continuously working with State/UT Police to reduce the time taken for police verification: mPassport Police App is now being used by 22 States/UTs.” Covering 8275 police stations across the states.”
He also informed that Passport Seva system has also been integrated with DigiLocker system to facilitate paperless documentation process.
“The Ministry in collaboration with the Department of Posts has operationalized 428 Post Office Passport Seva Kendras (POPSKs) to reach our citizens at their doorsteps. The Ministry has successfully integrated the passport issuance system in our 178 Embassies and Consulates abroad ” The minister said that this has enabled the government to efficiently deliver passport related services to the diaspora through a centralized and secure application.
Recognizing the need for continuous improvement in the quality of passport services, Passport Seva Program (PSP) will launch PSP v2.0, an enhanced and improved version of PSP v1.0. PSP V2.0 will ensure a digital ecosystem among all stakeholders and provide better passport services to citizens.
“It will ensure end-to-end smooth governance through use of latest and emerging technologies like standardized and liberalized processes, use of artificial intelligence, chat-bots, use of big-data, advanced analytics etc. The ministry is planning to roll out e-passports. It is also working for Indian citizens which will facilitate international travel and enable protection against identity theft and greater data security,” he concluded.
(with ANI inputs)