Modernisation process of Passport Offices/Passport Seva Kendras (PSKs)

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS

LOK SABHA

ANSWERED ON 16.07.2014

(a) As part of the Passport Seva Project (PSP), a Mission Mode Project, implemented by the Government with a view to comprehensively overhaul passport issuance system, 77 Passport Seva Kendras (PSKs) as per enclosed list (Annexure –I), have been set up and operationalised as extended arms of the existing 37 Passport Offices across the country. Since the launch of Pilot PSKs in May 2010 to 30th June, 2014, 1,53,29,306 Passports have been issued in the new system.

(b) to (d) (i) The Passport Portal, www.passportindia.gov.in, is web-based and can be accessed by anyone, anytime and anywhere. The citizens are free to apply online and obtain appointments themselves or seek the assistance of anyone else to obtain appointments. The applicants are required to log on to the Passport Portal; create their user ID and assign a password; fill & submit the application form online or download the e-form, fill & upload the same at the portal (applicants may scan and upload supporting documents, if they so desire); schedule an appointment after making payment of passport fee online through debit/credit card or State Bank of India (SBI) net-banking or SBI Challan; and along with a print-out of Appointment Slip/Challan, original documents and photocopies, visit the concerned PSK for submission of application.

(ii) With a view to address the challenge of digital divide in the country, especially in the rural hinterland, the Government in association with M/s. CSC e-Governance Services India Limited {which is promoted by the Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DeitY)}, has facilitated online filing of passport applications, through the vast network of over one lakh CSCs across rural hinterland. The CSCs which are the delivery points for Government, Private and Social Sector services in the area, facilitate filling and uploading of Passport application form, payment of applicable fee and scheduling of appointment for visit to the PSK, at nominal charge not exceeding Rs. 100/-. As per the appointment schedule, the applicants visit the PSK for completion of application submission process. The services through CSCs are available throughout the week, including during the weekend.

(iii) The online appointment system has been introduced to minimize waiting time for applicants. Appointments are allotted according to handling capacity of PSKs and are based on electronic queue management system. The number of public dealing counters has been increased from the erstwhile 350 to 1610 in the new system and public dealing hours have gone up from 4 hours to 7 hours a day.

(iv) The entire process is online and streamlined including interface with the Indian police for verification of personal particulars of applicants and with India Post for tracking delivery of passports. Status of applications can be tracked through the passport website or through mPassport Seva. An e-mail based helpdesk facility and a 24×7 National Call Centre has been set up to provide requisite information to citizens in 17 languages. An SMS message is sent to the citizen as soon as the passport is dispatched. For assistance, one can call toll-free helpline 1800-258-1800.

(v) Applicants’ presence in person at the PSK enables the Passport Issuing Authority to capture their photograph and fingerprints to prevent the incidence of impersonation. The applicants also get full opportunity to see and affirm their personal particulars to be entered in the passport to avoid unnecessary correspondence later.

(vi) Walk-in facility has also been allowed to citizens having Application Registration Number (ARN) to enable them to apply for Tatkaal service, issue of Police Clearance Certificate (PCC), deletion of Emigration Clearance Required (ECR) status, inclusion of name of spouse in the passport and issue of new booklets where pages have been exhausted. Senior citizens above 60 years, minors below 15 years whose parents hold valid passports, differently-abled persons, Central/State government employees and their spouse/dependent minor children having ARN have also been permitted walk-in facility.

(vii) Amenities in every PSK include photocopying, food and beverage, public phone booth, baby care room, newspapers and television in a comfortable air-conditioned environment while the applicants obtain passport services.

(viii) The Project is supported by state-of-the-art technology infrastructure which enables end-to-end passport services to be delivered with enhanced security. A complex algorithm has been built in to highlight cases of possible duplication and suppression of information by the applicant.

(ix) The PSP system also has the potential of integration with other e-governance initiatives of the Government.

(x) Security has been given special attention in the Project. The accountability of the employees as well as the Service Provider’s personnel, in respect of any task performed in the PSP system, is ensured through three-level authentication comprising Biometric log-in, User ID/Password and Digital Signatures.

(xi) Passport Offices conduct Passport Melas at PSKs on weekends from time to time for meeting high demand of passports. Passport Adalats, on need basis, are also conducted by Passport Offices to redress passport service grievances by dealing with citizens directly.

(xii) As police verification of personal particulars and antecedents of applicants is critical to Passport issuance, Passport Offices keep in touch with Police to expedite Police Verification reports.

(xiii) A Handbook of Standard Documents & Procedures for PSK officials has been circulated to all the Passport Offices for speedy processing of passport applications.

(xiv) A Productivity Linked Incentive Scheme has been implemented aimed at increasing productivity of the Central Passport Organisation officials.

STATE-WISE LIST OF PASSPORT SEVA KENDRAS (PSKs)

S. No.	State/UT	No. of PSKs	Location of PSKs
1.	Andhra Pradesh	3	Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, Tirupati,
2.	Assam*	1	Guwahati
3.	Bihar	1	Patna
4.	Chandigarh UT**	1	Chandigarh
5.	Chhattisgarh	1	Raipur
6.	Delhi NCT***	3	Herald House, Shalimar Place, Bhikaji Cama Place
7.	Goa	1	Panaji
8.	Gujarat	5	Ahmedabad I& II, Vadodara, Rajkot, Surat.
9.	Haryana	2	Ambala, Gurgaon.
10.	Himachal Pradesh	1	Shimla
11.	Jammu & Kashmir	2	Jammu, Srinagar
12.	Jharkhand	1	Ranchi
13.	Karnataka	4	Bangalore I & II, Hubli, Mangalore.
14.	Kerala	13	Thiruvananthapuram,Thiruvananthapuram (Rural), Kollam, Cochin, Ernakulam Rural, Alapuzha, Kottayam, Malappuram, Thrissur, Kozhikode I & II, Kannur I & II.
15.	Madhya Pradesh	1	Bhopal
16.	Maharashtra	7	Mumbai I, II & III, Pune, Nagpur, Thane, Nashik.
17.	Odisha	1	Bhubaneswar
18.	Punjab	5	Amritsar, Ludhiana, Jalandhar I & II, Hoshiarpur.
19.	Rajasthan	3	Jaipur, Jodhpur, Sikar.
20.	Tamil Nadu	8	Chennai I, II & III, Trichy, Thanjavur, Madurai,Tirunelveli, Coimbatore,
21.	Telangana	4	Hyderabad I, II & III , Nizamabad
22.	Uttar Pradesh	6	Lucknow, Varanasi, Kanpur, Gorakhpur, Bareilly, Ghaziabad.
23.	Uttarakhand	1	Dehradun
24.	West Bengal@	2	Kolkata, Berhampore.
TOTAL		77

* RPO Guwahati covers five other North-Eastern States also.

**RPO Chandigarh covers parts of Punjab and Haryana

***RPO Delhi covers parts of Haryana

@RPO Kolkata covers Sikkim and Tripura.

Source: http://164.100.47.132/Annexture_New/lsq16/2/au883.htm

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