Press Information Bureau
Government of India
Ministry of Communications & Information Technology
23-June-2017 14:51 IST
A commemorative postage stamp released on completion of 50 years of Passport Act.
The Minister for Communications Shri Manoj Sinha said that the Passport
Seva Project (PSP) has been a watershed in the history of passport
issuance in India with its successful implementation in the Public
Private Partnership (PPP) mode. The entire process of citizen service
delivery has been re-engineered, standardized and automated. Speaking
after releasing a commemorative postage stamp on completion of 50 years
of “The Passports Act, 1967”, he said that services are delivered
through a country-wide networked environment - integrating all Passport
Issuing Authorities, around 91 Passport Seva Kendras, as well as
providing access to a number of external stakeholders viz. Immigration,
Police, India Post, India Security Press and Embassies/ Consulates
abroad.
Shri Sinha said that 24th June 1967 marked an important milestone in the
history of passport issuance in India as it was on this day that the
President gave assent to the Passports Act 1967. The Passports Act
provided a robust legal framework for the issue of passports and travel
documents and regulation of the departure from India of Indian
citizens.
The Minister said that in order to extend passport services to our
citizens on a larger scale and to ensure wider area coverage, the
Ministry of External Affairs and the Department of Posts (DOP) have
agreed to utilize the Head Post Offices in the country as Post Office
Passport Seva Kendra (POPSK) for delivering passport related services to
the citizens of our country. The pilot projects for this joint venture
between MEA and DOP were inaugurated on 25 January, 2017 at Mysuru in
Karnataka and at Dahod in Gujarat. Shri Sinha said, applicants, who
apply for their passports online through the passport portal, can now
schedule an appointment and then visit the designated POPSK to complete
the formalities similar to those at the PSK necessary prior to the issue
of the passport.
It has been decided to set up 235 POPSK in two phases – 86 in Phase-I
and 149 in Phase-II. 52 POPSK of Phase-I have been operationalized.
