Lok Sabha Question No. 4218 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-12-20
Subject: Passport Offices
Ministry: EXTERNAL AFFAIRS
Asked by: Shri Arun Kumar Sagar

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO- 4218 ANSWERED ON- 20/12/2024 PASSPORT OFFICES

## †4218. SHRI ARUN KUMAR SAGAR

Will the Minister of EXTERNAL AFFAIRS be pleased to state :-

- (a) the number of passport offices in the country as on date, State-wise;
- (b) the number of applications scrutinized every month on an average in these passport offices;
- (c) whether there is any delay in issuing passports, if so, the details thereof;
- (d) whether any proposal is under consideration to open more passport offices in the country; and
- (e) if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS

## (SHRI KIRTI VARDHAN SINGH)

(a   &   b)   The   details   of   Passport   Offices,   State/   Union   Territory   (UT)   wise, alongwith the number of applications scrutinized every month on an average is attached at Annexure-I.

(c)   The   average   time   taken   for   issuance   of   passport   (excluding   police verification time) is 7-10 days for normal passport and 1 - 3 days for tatkaal passport. Police Verification (PV) of applicants' personal particulars plays an important role in timely issuance of passport. All India average for PV is 15 days.

Due to rise in demand, the Government has been working continuously to speed up passport issuance and meet high or seasonal demand for passport by taking various   steps   including   increasing   the   number   of   daily   appointments   and organizing special drives on weekends.

(d & e) Opening of  Passport Offices (POs)/ Passport Seva Kendras (PSKs)/ Post Office Passport Seva Kendras (POPSKs) is an on-going activity and depends upon various factors including distance from existing POs/ PSKs/ POPSKs and the volume of passport applications from a particular region.

## Annexure-I

## List of Passport Offices states/ UTs wise along with number of applications scrutinized every month on an average in these Passport Offices

| S. No.   | State/ UT           | Passport Office   | The number of applications scrutinized every month on an average [1 st Jan, 2024 to 30 th Nov, 2024 period]   |
|----------|---------------------|-------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Andhra   | Pradesh             | RPO Vijayawada    | 1. 23,859                                                                                                     |
| Andhra   | RPO Visakhapat- nam |                   | 2. 16,262                                                                                                     |
| 3.       | Assam               | RPO Guwahati      | 15,511                                                                                                        |
| 4.       | Bihar               | RPO Patna         | 32,813                                                                                                        |
| 5.       | Chandigarh          | RPO Chandigarh    | 68,399                                                                                                        |
| 6.       | Chhattisgarh        | RPO Raipur        | 5,205                                                                                                         |
| 7.       | Delhi               | RPO Delhi         | 59,281                                                                                                        |
| 8.       | Goa                 | RPO Goa           | 4,956                                                                                                         |
| 9.       | Gujarat             | RPO Ahmedabad     | 61,105                                                                                                        |
| 10.      |                     | RPO Surat         | 16,710                                                                                                        |
| 11.      | Himachal            | RPO Shimla        | 6,010                                                                                                         |

| Pradesh            |                 |                 |
|--------------------|-----------------|-----------------|
| 12.                | Jammu and       | RPO Jammu 5,130 |
| Kashmir 13.        | RPO Srinagar    | 8,171           |
| 14. Jharkhand      | RPO Ranchi      | 9,645           |
| 15. Karnataka      | RPO Bengaluru   | 76,789          |
| 16. Kerala         | RPO Cochin      | 54,616          |
| 17.                | RPO Kozhikode   | 58,988          |
| 18.                | RPO Trivandrum  | 21,341          |
| 19. Madhya Pradesh | RPO Bhopal      | 22,612          |
| 20. Maharashtra    | RPO Mumbai      | 74,188          |
| 21.                | RPO Nagpur      | 9,160           |
| 22.                | RPO Pune        | 37,983          |
| 23. Odisha         | RPO Bhubaneswar | 8,602           |
| 24. Punjab         | RPO Amritsar    | 19,478          |
| 25.                | RPO Jalandhar   | 32,478          |
| 26. Rajasthan      | RPO Jaipur      | 35,331          |
| 27.                | RPO Kota        | 6,995           |
| 28. Tamil Nadu     | RPO Chennai     | 45,040          |
| 29.                | RPO Coimbatore  | 15,063          |
| 30.                | RPO Madurai     | 22,373          |

|   31. |               | RPO Tiruchirappalli   | 18,717   |
|-------|---------------|-----------------------|----------|
|    32 | Telangana     | RPO Hyderabad         | 62,770   |
|    33 | Uttar Pradesh | RPO Bareilly          | 16,478   |
|    34 | Uttar Pradesh | RPO Ghaziabad         | 27,411   |
|    35 | Uttar Pradesh | RPO Lucknow           | 64,807   |
|    36 | Uttarakhand   | RPO Dehradun          | 11,555   |
|    37 | West Bengal   | RPO Kolkata           | 48,349   |

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