Khurshid launches mobile Passport Seva for smartphone users

NEW DELHI, INDIA: External Affairs Minister, Salman Khurshid, launched on Monday a mobile-based Passport Seva to offer a wide gamut of services to smartphone users, such as passport application status tracking, locating the PSKs and general information on various steps involved in obtaining passport services. The service would soon be available to other mobile phone users as well.

On the occasion, he also extended the Online Passport Fees Payment facility to 18 Passport Seva Kendras (PSKs), besides the 25 functional centers in the country. By July 3, the online facility will be available in the rest of 15 PSKs as well.

Inaugurating a two-day Passport Officer's Conference at the Jawahar Lal Nehru Bhavan, Khurshid declared June 24 as Passport Seva Divas, as the Passport Act 1967 was enacted on this day. The Act lays down the foundation of a sound legal framework for issuance of passports and other travel documents in post-independent India.

Thirty-seven passport officers and the representative of the Andaman and Nicobar administration are participating in the conference, said a statement.

During his address, Khurshid urged passport officers to adopt a citizen-centric role and for measures that facilitate speedier and courteous service as well as lauded the efforts of Central Passport Organisation employees for striving to improve governance in the country in tandem with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), the service provider through Passport Seva, a transformational initiative of the government under National e-Governance Plan. He also gave away Passport Seva Puraskars to the CPO employees and passport officers.

As a part of the ministry of external affairs' e-governance initiatives, the Passport Seva Project (PSP) has transformed the passport issuance system across India through an increased network of 77 PSKs.

The benefits of the Passport Seva Project include increased network of 77 PSKs acting as extended arms of 37 passport offices across the country, longer working hours to benefit the citizens, 24X7 national call centre support in 17 languages, complete digitization and processing of application when applicant visits the reducing the overall time spent and eliminating multiple visits, said the statement.

More than one crore passport services have been rendered in the new system.