Lok Sabha Question No. 3958 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-07-17
Subject: Police Verification for Passport
Ministry: EXTERNAL AFFAIRS
Asked by: Vinayak Bhaurao Raut, Pritam Gopinath Munde, Shrirang Appa Barne, Girish Bhalchandra Bapat, Shrikant Eknath Shinde

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.3958

## TO BE ANSWERED ON 17.07.2019

## POLICE VERIFICATION FOR PASSPORT

## 3958. SHRI VINAYAK RAUT:

- DR. PRITAM GOPINATHRAO MUNDE: SHRI SRIRANGA APPA BARNE: SHRI GIRISH BHALCHANDRA BAPAT: DR. SHRIKANT EKNATH SHINDE:

Will the Minister of EXTERNAL AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

- (a) the average time taken for police verification and the extent to which the Government proposes to bring it down further; and
- (b) the details of steps taken by the Government to further simplify the process of issuance of passport?

## ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS [V. MURALEEDHARAN]

(a) The average time taken  by State/Union Territories for submission of Police Verification Report (PVR) to issue fresh passports  is continuously improving and constant efforts are being made to meet the desired timeline of 21 days. While it was 49 days in 2013, the Ministry took various measures to reduce the time taken in completion of PVR for expeditious issuance of passports which has resulted in the average time taken decline to 18 days during the period January to June 2019. It was 19 days in 2018 and 23 days in 2017.   This has been made possible by following innovative measures to simplify the police verification process:

(i) The Ministry has successfully connected, till date, 731 Police Districts out of the total 771 Police Districts with the Passport Seva Project digitally under the District Police Headquarter (DPHQ) model.

(ii) The Ministry has launched the mPassport Police App for speedy submission of Police Verification Report (PVR). The App would facilitate the field level verification officers to directly capture the PVR into the system digitally. With the launch of this App, the need to download and print the physical Personal Particular Form and Questionnaire would no longer be required resulting in paperless end-to-end digital flow   of   the   Police   Verification   process,   further   reducing   the   time   required   for completion of PVR.

The Passport Seva Project is capable of delivering the request for police verification directly to the Police Stations concerned wherever the infrastructure is available. The Ministry continuously endeavors to expedite the process of police verification   through   active   engagement   of   the   passport   offices   with   the   police authorities through conducting of seminars, outreach activities from time to time.

(b) The Ministry has eased the passport issuing process and has made it an online procedure including getting appointments for submission of documents for passports. Effective technical infrastructure is in place to ensure that the Passport Seva system is available for access at all times from any location. The Passport Portal (www.passportindia.gov.in) is accessible to anyone, anywhere and anytime. With a view to address the challenge of digital divide, especially in the rural hinterland, the Ministry in association with CSC e-Governance Services India Ltd. (which is promoted by the Department of Electronics and IT), has facilitated online

filing of passport applications, through the vast network of Common Service Centres (CSCs) across rural hinterland.

An applicant can now apply for a passport from anywhere in India. But Police verification  would be conducted by the Police Station in whose jurisdiction the address mentioned in the form falls and the passport will also be dispatched at the same address.

mPassport Seva mobile app launched on 26.06.2018 enables to apply, pay and schedule appointments for passport services. This App is available in Android and iOS platforms. It also provides passport related information including location of Passport   Seva   Kendras,   applicable   fees,   mode   of   submission,   and   tracking   of passport application status on smart phones. Citizens would not require access to a computer and printer to apply for passport services. Securing online appointment for submission of passport applications at PSK/ POPSK has been simplified. The current provision is allowing applicants to choose any appointment date from the earliest   five   available   dates   (working   days)   for   scheduling/   rescheduling   an appointment for passport related services. Earlier, the System used to offer only one available date to the applicant for seeking appointment for passport related services.

In the year 2017, a decision was taken to open 'Post Office Passport Seva Kendras'   (POPSKs)   in   co-operation   with   the   Department   of   Posts   in   every Parliamentary Constituency. Presently, 505 'Passport Kendras' are operational in the country, as on 11 th July, 2019.

The Passport Rules have also been simplified to make it easier for the citizens to get passports. This is at Annexure-I.

ANNEXURE-I

## SIMPLIFICATION OF PASSPORT RULES

In order to streamline, liberalize and ease the process of issue  of passport, the Ministry of External Affairs has taken a number of steps in the realm of passport policy to ease the process of issue of passports. The details of these steps are given below:-

## (a) Documents in support of proof of Date of Birth

As per the extant statutory provisions of the Passport Rules, 1980, all the applicants born on or after 26/01/1989, in order to get a passport, had to, hitherto, mandatorily submit the Birth Certificate as the proof of Date of Birth (DOB). It has now been decided that all applicants of passports can submit  any  one  of  the  following  documents as the proof of DOB while submitting the passport application:

- (i) Birth Certificate (BC) issued by the Registrar of Births & Deaths or the Municipal Corporation or any other prescribed authority whosoever has been empowered under the Registration of Birth & Deaths  Act, 1969 to register the birth of a child born in India;
- (ii) Transfer/School leaving/Matriculation Certificate issued by the school last attended/recognized educational board containing the DOB of the applicant;

- (iii) PAN Card issued by the Income T ax Department with the DOB of applicant;
- (iv) Aadhaar Card/E-Aadhaar having the DOB of applicant;
- (v) Copy of the extract of the service record of the applicant (only in respect of Government servants) or the Pay Pension Order (in respect of   retired   Government   Servants),   duly   attested/certified   by   the officer/in-charge of the Administration of the concerned Ministry/Department of the applicant, having his DOB;
- (vi) Driving license issued by the Transport Department of concerned State Government, having the DOB of applicant;
- (vii) Election Photo Identity Card (EPIC) issued by the Election Commission of India having the DOB of applicant;
- (viii) Policy Bond issued by the Public Life Insurance Corporations/Companies   having   the   DOB   of   the   holder   of   the insurance policy.

Other Changes:

- (i) The online passport application form now requires the applicant to provide the name of father or mother or legal guardian, i.e., only one parent and not both. This would enable single parents to apply for passports for their children and to also issue passports where the name of either the father or the mother is not required to be printed at the request of the applicant.
- (ii) The total number of Annexes prescribed in the Passport Rule, 1980, has been reduced to 9 from the past 15.
- (iii) All the annexes that are required to be given by the applicants would be   in   the   form   of   a   self   declaration   on   a   plain paper. Attestation/swearing by/ before any Notary/ Executive Magistrate/ First Class Judicial Magistrate would be henceforth not required.
- (iv) Married  applicants  would  not  be  required  to  provide  the  erstwhile Annexure K or any marriage certificate.
- (v) The   passport   application   form   does   not   require   the   applicant   to provide the name of her/his spouse in case of separated or divorced persons.   Such   applicants   for   passports   would   not   be   required   to provide even the Divorce Decree.
- (vi) In case of children not born out of wedlock, the applicant for the passport of such children should submit only extant Annexure C while submitting the passport application.
- (vii) In   case   of   issue   of   passport   to   in-country   domestically   adopted children, submission of the registered adoption deed would no longer be required. In the absence of any deed to this effect, the passport applicant may give a declaration on a plain paper confirming  the adoption.
- (viii) Government   servants,   who   are   not   able   to   obtain   the   Identity Certificate   (extant   Annexure-A)/   No-Objection   Certificate   (extant Annexure-G) from their concerned employer and intend to get the

passport on urgent basis can now get the passport by submitting a self-declaration in extant Annexure-'H' that he/she has given  prior Intimation   Letter   to   his/her   employer   informing   that   he/she   was applying for an ordinary passport to a Passport Issuing Authority.

- (ix) Sadhus/ Sanyasis can apply for a passport with the name of their spiritual Guru mentioned in the passport application in lieu of their biological parent(s) name(s) subject to their providing of at least one public document such as Election Photo Identity Card (EPIC) issued by the Election Commission of India, PAN card, Aadhaar Card, etc wherein the name of the Guru has been recorded against the column(s) for parent(s) name(s).
- (x) Orphaned children who do not have any proof of DOB such as Birth Certificate or the Matriculation Certificate or the declaratory Court order,   may   now   submit   a   declaration   given   by   the   Head   of   the Orphanage/Child   Care   Home   on   their   official   letter   head   of   the organization confirming the DOB of the applicant.
- (xi) An applicant for a passport has to submit any one of the documents as mentioned   in   (A)   above   as   proof   of   Date   of   Birth   (DOB)   while submitting   the   passport   application.   The   DOB   mentioned   in   the document would be recorded in the passport. In case there is a discrepancy between the DOB previously recorded in the passport and the new proof of DOB submitted by the applicant, the Passport Issuing Authorities (PIA) have been authorized to consider the explanation of each applicant seeking change in the DOB (irrespective of the period that would have lapsed after the issue of the passport) to find the genuineness of the claim and if the PIA is satisfied with the claim and with the document(s) submitted by the applicant in support of the claim, the PIA shall accept all such requests made by the applicant to issue the passport with revised DOB.
- (xii) Passports can be now obtained under the 'Tatkaal' Scheme without providing the Verification Certificate from a Gazetted Officer, which was  required  earlier.    Applicants may  submit  any  3  of  the  following documents for obtaining passport:
- (a) Aadhaar card/e-Aadhaar containing the 12-digit Aadhaar number/28digit   Aadhaar   Enrolment  ID   printed   on   the   Aadhaar   Enrolment   Slip issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI)
- (b) Electors Photo Identify Card (EPIC)
- (c) Service Photo Identity Card issued by State/Central Government, Public Sector Undertakings, local bodies or Public Limited Companies
- (d) Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe/Order Backward Class Certificate
- (e) Arms License
- (f) Pension   Document   such   as   Ex-servicemen's   Pension   Book/Pension Payment order, ex-servicemen's widow/dependent Certificate, Old Age pension Order
- (g) Self-Passport (unrevoked and undamaged)
- (h) Permanent Account Number (PAN) Card
- (i) Bank/Kisan/Post Office Passbook

- (j) Student Photo ldentity Card issued by an Educational lnstitution;
- (k) Driving License (valid and within the jurisdiction of State of submission of applicant)
- (l) Birth Certificate issued under the Registration of Births and Deaths Act; and
- (m) Ration Card

Now Passports can also be obtained under the Normal scheme on outof-turn post-Police  Verification  basis without paying any additional fees on the submission of minimum three documents mentioned in para-xii.

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