Lok Sabha Question No. 641 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2015-12-02
Subject: Passport Issuance
Ministry: EXTERNAL AFFAIRS
Asked by: BALABHADRA MAJHI, PARASURAMAN K., J. JAYASINGH THIYAGARAJ NATTERJEE, MAJ. GEN. (RETD) BHUWAN CHANDRA KHANDURI AVSM, RADHESHYAM BISWAS, SRIRAM MALYADRI, KIRIT SOMAIYA, BAIJAYANT "JAY" PANDA

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.641 TO BE ANSWERED ON 02.12.2015

## PASSPORT ISSUANCE

641. SHRI BALABHADRA MAJHI:

SHRI K. PARASURAMAN:

SHRI J.J.T. NATTERJEE:

MAJ GEN BC KHANDURI AVSM (RETD):

SHRI RADHESHYAM BISWAS:

SHRI MALYADRI SRIRAM:

DR. KIRIT SOMAIYA:

SHRI BAIJAYANT JAY PANDA:

Will the Minister of EXTERNAL AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  the  Government  has  any  plan  to  increase  the  number  of Passport  Seva  Kendras  (PSKs)  in  the  country  and  if  so,  the  details thereof, State/UT-wise;
- (b) whether  the  Government  has  also  enhanced  e-service  centres  for speedy  submission  of  passport  applications  and  if  so,  the  details thereof;
- (c) the number of passports issued during the current year till date, Statewise;
- (d) whether the Government has chalked out any plan to spread awareness regarding online submission of passport applications; and
- (e) if so, the details of modalities worked out in this regard and the time by which the same is likely to be started?

## ANSWER

THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS [GEN. (DR) V. K. SINGH (RETD)]

- (a) The Passport Seva Project (PSP) has been implemented by the Ministry with the establishment of 77 Passport Seva Kendras (PSKs) operationalised by  June,  2012.  Subsequently,  to  provide  more  access  points  for  passport services, the Ministry decided to set up 18 additional Passport Seva Laghu Kendras (PSLK). State-wise list of functional/upcoming PSLKs is enclosed at Annexure  I.  In  view  of  increased  demand  for  passports,  the  Ministry  is considering to further increase the number of PSKs in the country.

(b) The  Ministry  has  already  been  utilizing  the  services  of  Common Services Centers (CSCs) with a view to extend its digital outreach to rural hinterland.  The  Ministry  in  association  with  CSC  e-Governance  Services India Ltd. which  is promoted  by  the Department  of Electronics and Information Technology has facilitated online filing of passport applications through the vast network of over one lakh Common Services Centers.  This arrangement was firmed up in March 2014 and full roll out came into effect from  April 2014. Under  this  arrangement,  CSCs  facilitate  filling  and uploading of Passport application, online payment  and  scheduling of appointment  for  the  applicant  to  visit  the  concerned  PSK  at  a  nominal charge not exceeding Rs.100/-.  So far, a total of 1,31,713 applications have been  submitted  through  CSCs.  11,824  applications  were  submitted  in  the month of October, 2015 through CSC network.

(c) The list  of  number of  passports  issued  by  Passport  Offices  in  India, excluding issued overseas, during the current year till 31st October 2015 is enclosed at Annexure II.

(d) & (e)    The Passport Seva Programme is being implemented successfully in  Public-Private-Partnership  mode  with  Tata  Consultancy  Services  for  the last four years. The information relating to passport issuance is available on the  user  friendly  portal  http://passportindia.gov.in      which  is  accessible  to anyone,  anywhere  and  anytime.  Comprehensive  information  relating  to passport  application  procedures,  requirement  of  supporting  documents, applicable fees, location of Passport Offices, Passport Seva Kendras, police station jurisdiction etc. is posted on the Portal to make it user-friendly.  The portal  is  updated  with  Advisories/Notices  and  Press  Releases  relating  to Passport services developments from time to time. A 24 x 7 National Call Centre  has  been  set  up  which  provides  real-time  status  and  up-to-date information in  17  languages  using  a  toll  free  number  1800-258-1800. mPassport Seva mobile app provides passport related information including PSK locator, applicable fees, mode of submission and tracking of passport application  status  on  smart  phones.  Ample  publicity  is  given  by  the concerned Passport Office for holding Passport Seva Camps, Passport Melas and Passport Adalats well in advance so that applicants can make full use of these  special  dispensations.    Passport  Awareness  events  are  also  held occasionally by respective Passport Offices.  The Common Service Centers are also guiding citizens about online submission of passport applications, especially in rural areas.

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## Annexure-I

## List of functional/upcoming Passport Seva Kendras (PSKs)

|   S. No. | State / UT        | Location of PSK                  | Under Passport Office   |
|----------|-------------------|----------------------------------|-------------------------|
|        1 | Mizoram           | Aizawl                           | Guwahati                |
|        2 | Manipur           | Imphal                           | Guwahati                |
|        3 | Meghalaya         | Shillong                         | Guwahati                |
|        4 | Arunachal Pradesh | Itanagar                         | Guwahati                |
|        5 | Nagaland          | Dimapur                          | Guwahati                |
|        6 | Tripura           | Agartala                         | Kolkata                 |
|        7 | Sikkim            | Gangtok                          | Kolkata                 |
|        8 | West Bengal       | Siliguri                         | Kolkata                 |
|        9 | West Bengal       | Kharagpur                        | Kolkata                 |
|       10 | West Bengal       | Kolkata (MEA Branch Secretariat) | Kolkata                 |
|       11 | Bihar             | Darbhanga                        | Patna                   |
|       12 | Jammu &Kashmir    | Leh                              | Srinagar                |
|       13 | Madhya Pradesh    | Indore                           | Bhopal                  |
|       14 | Maharashtra       | Solapur                          | Pune                    |
|       15 | Karnataka         | Kalaburagi                       | Bangalore               |
|       16 | Andhra Pradesh    | Bhimavaram                       | Visakhapatnam           |
|       17 | Telangana         | Karimnagar                       | Hyderabad               |
|       18 | Puducherry        | Puducherry                       | Chennai                 |

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## Annexure-II

| State/UT Wise number of Passports issued from 1st Jan, 2015 to 31st Oct, 2015   | State/UT Wise number of Passports issued from 1st Jan, 2015 to 31st Oct, 2015   |
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| State Name                                                                      | Passports issued                                                                |
| Andaman &Nicobar                                                                | 4015                                                                            |
| Andhra Pradesh                                                                  | 329847                                                                          |
| Arunachal Pradesh                                                               | 1224                                                                            |
| Assam                                                                           | 52617                                                                           |
| Bihar                                                                           | 286075                                                                          |
| Chandigarh                                                                      | 24209                                                                           |
| Chhattisgarh                                                                    | 31537                                                                           |
| Dadra and Nagar Haveli                                                          | 1327                                                                            |
| Daman and Diu                                                                   | 6769                                                                            |
| Delhi                                                                           | 322270                                                                          |
| Goa                                                                             | 37546                                                                           |
| Gujarat                                                                         | 597879                                                                          |
| Haryana                                                                         | 206476                                                                          |
| Himachal Pradesh                                                                | 35476                                                                           |
| Jammu and Kashmir                                                               | 92308                                                                           |
| Jharkhand                                                                       | 66705                                                                           |
| Karnataka                                                                       | 521165                                                                          |
| Kerala                                                                          | 906888                                                                          |
| Lakshadweep                                                                     | 1498                                                                            |
| Madhya Pradesh                                                                  | 137703                                                                          |
| Maharashtra                                                                     | 954705                                                                          |
| Manipur                                                                         | 4119                                                                            |
| Meghalaya                                                                       | 4179                                                                            |
| Mizoram                                                                         | 2463                                                                            |
| Nagaland                                                                        | 2312                                                                            |
| Odisha                                                                          | 84111                                                                           |
| Puducherry                                                                      | 17802                                                                           |
| Punjab                                                                          | 558459                                                                          |
| Rajasthan                                                                       | 244706                                                                          |
| Sikkim                                                                          | 3898                                                                            |
| Tamil Nadu                                                                      | 810032                                                                          |
| Telangana                                                                       | 422589                                                                          |
| Tripura                                                                         | 16507                                                                           |
| Uttar Pradesh                                                                   | 1097381                                                                         |
| Uttarakhand                                                                     | 70048                                                                           |
| West Bengal                                                                     | 448333                                                                          |
| Total                                                                           | 8405178                                                                         |

*****