Lok Sabha Question No. 2124 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-12-12
Subject: Issuance of Passports
Ministry: EXTERNAL AFFAIRS
Asked by: Shri M K Raghavan, Smt. Bharti Pardhi, Dr. Shrikant Eknath Shinde, Shri Rajesh Verma, Smt. Shambhavi, Shri Ravindra Dattaram Waikar, Dr. Lata Wankhede, Shri Vishaldada Prakashbapu Patil, Shri Atul Garg, Shri Shrirang Appa Chandu Barne, Shri Naresh Ganpat Mhaske

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS

## LOK SABHA

UNSTARRED QUESTION NO- 2124

ANSWERED ON- 12/12/2025

ISSUANCE OF PASSPORTS

## 2124.   SHRI RAVINDRA DATTARAM WAIKAR

SHRI NARESH GANPAT MHASKE

SMT. SHAMBHAVI

SMT. BHARTI PARDHI

SHRI VISHALDADA PRAKASHBAPU PATIL

SHRI SHRIRANG APPA CHANDU BARNE

DR. SHRIKANT EKNATH SHINDE

SHRI RAJESH VERMA

SHRI ATUL GARG

DR. LATA WANKHEDE

SHRI M K RAGHAVAN

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

(a)  the   average   waiting   time   for   appointments   and   issuance   of passports across various Passport Seva Kendras (PSKs), Post Office Passport   Seva   Kendras   (POPSKs)   under   Normal   and   Tatkaal categories during the last three years, State/ UT-wise;

(b) the number and nature of complaints received regarding passport delays,   procedural   hurdles   and   difficulties   in   obtaining   police verification   for   passports,   along   with   the   corrective   steps   taken thereon;

(c) the number of passport applications pending for police verification for more than 30 days, State-wise;

(d) the measures taken to simplify the passport issuance process, strengthen grievance redressal mechanisms indicating the status of the e-passport rollout;

(e) whether the Government proposes to expand the network of PSKs/ POPSKs in underserved districts and improve digital/online facilities for faster processing, if so, the details thereof; and

(f) the details of the grievances faced by Indians abroad related to loss/damage/renewal of passports at Indian Missions along with the steps taken to address such issues?

## ANSWER

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

## (SHRI KIRTI VARDHAN SINGH)

(a)   The details of the average waiting time for appointments and issuance of passports across various Passport Seva Kendras (PSKs),

Post   Office   Passport   Seva   Kendras   (POPSKs)   under   Normal   and Tatkaal categories during the last three years, RPO-wise/State/UTwise is given in Annexure-I and Annexure-II respectively.

(b) The   number   and   nature   of   complaints/grievances   received regarding   passport   delays,   procedural   hurdles   and   difficulties   in obtaining police verification for passports during last three years are given in Annexure-III.

In   order   to   address   complaints   and   grievances,   the   Ministry   of External Affairs is continuously taking steps to redress the complaints and grievances on a timely manner. The public complaints/grievances are redressed through different modes like Public Grievances Cell, CPGRAMS,   Emails   and   X-handle.   Also,   Regional   Passport   Offices (RPOs) have been sensitised to promptly attend to all passport related grievances on a timely manner. Whenever necessary, passport adalats are conducted on weekends and holidays to clear pending passport applications.   A   compliance   report   on   the   action   taken   on   various grievances is also sent to the Ministry by the respective RPOs.

The Ministry launched mPassport Police App in 2016 for Android/iOS mobile phones for use by State/UT police personnel tasked with conducting   police   verification,   enabling   them   for   an   expeditious submission of Police Verification Report (PVR) digitally directly from the Police Station itself. Currently, 25 States/UTs covering more than

9322   Police   Stations   across   the   country   have   already   launched mPassport Police App.

(c) The number of passport applications pending for police verification for more than 30 days as on 1 st December, 2025, State-wise, is given at Annexure-IV.

(d) To simplify passport processing process, quality services are being provided to the applicants at PSKs/POPSKs established with good amenities across the country in Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode. The applicants are required to apply for their passports online, make the payment online through debit/credit/Rupay cards, net banking/ SBI Challan   &   UPI   etc,   schedule   an   appointment   and   then   visit   the designated   PSK/POPSK.   A   user   friendly   portal   has   been   made available. When an applicant visits a PSK/POPSK, an Electronic Queue Management System (EQMS) working on the principle of First-in Firstout is available at all PSKs/POPSKs to monitor the flow of applicants. The applicants can track the status of their applications themselves through portal and also through SMS services. Provisions are also made for additional counters at the PSKs/POPSKs to meet the increase in   demand.   The   public   grievances   are   redressed   through   different modes like Public Grievances Cell, CPGRAMS, Emails and X-handle. Ministry of External Affairs has completed the roll out of e-Passport in all 37 Passport Offices in India and their respective Passport Seva

Kendras (PSKs) and Post Office Passport Seva Kendras (POPSKs) across the country and in all Missions/Posts abroad.

(e) The Government of India has taken several steps  to expand the network of PSKs and POPSKs in underserved districts and improve digital/online facilities for faster processing.  MEA in association with Department of Posts (DoP) had decided in January 2017 to open Seva Kendras   at   the   Head   Post   Offices   (HPO)/Post   Offices   (PO)   in   the country called Post Office Passport Seva Kendras (POPSK) in each Lok Sabha Constituency (LSC) where there is no PSK or POPSK.

Moreover, in June 2018, Ministry launched the  'Apply anywhere in India'' scheme   under   which   a   passport   can   be   applied   at   any PSK/POPSK in India. Also MEA has been regularly deploying Passport Mobile Vans under respective RPOs for on-site passport processing in remote areas and hilly areas.

Further, the payment of application fees through digital mode has been expanded to include Internet banking, debit/credit card (Visa, Master Card and Rupay) and Unified Payments Interface (UPI) mode through Virtual   Payment   address/UPI   id   or   QR   code.   Online   appointment facilities   and   feedback   kiosks/screens   to   capture   real-time   citizen responses for quicker service improvements have been provided.

(f) The details of  the grievances filed by Indian citizens abroad at Indian Missions/Posts are given below:

|   Sr. No. | Name of the Portal for redressal of grievances   |   Grievances Received |   Grievance Resolved |
|-----------|--------------------------------------------------|-----------------------|----------------------|
|         1 | MADAD Portal (01.01.2015 to 02.12.2025)          |                  3482 |                 3218 |
|         2 | CPGRAMS Portal (01.01.2018 to 02.12.2025)        |                   605 |                  585 |

The Ministry of  External Affairs accords high priority to the timely resolution of the grievances including passport-related issues, faced by Indian nationals travelling and working in foreign countries, through Indian Missions/Posts abroad. The MADAD portal has been significantly strengthened to enable instant registration, real-time tracking, and monitoring of complaints, with an in-built auto-escalation mechanism in   case   of   delays.   All   communications   received   through   e-mails, letters, social media, in-person visits, helplines and MADAD portal are actively   followed   up.   Expedited   emergency/tatkal   passport   re-issue services (often without insisting on police reports in genuine cases of loss   or   damage),   regular   Open   Houses   and   Consular   camps   have collectively ensured that most grievances are addressed promptly by the Indian Missions/Posts abroad. These measures have considerably improved the speed, effectiveness and responsiveness of  passportrelated grievance redressal mechanism for Indian citizens abroad.

## Annexure  - I

## Detail of average waiting time/ appointment cycle for passport services in Passport Seva Kendra (PSK) and Post Office Passport Seva Kendra (POPSK) categories, /RPO-wise/ State/UT wise

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

|              |             |               | PSK           | PSK           | PSK           | POPSK         | POPSK         |
|--------------|-------------|---------------|---------------|---------------|---------------|---------------|---------------|
|              |             |               | Normal        | PCC           | Tatkaal       | Normal        | PCC           |
| Sl. No.      | State       | RPO           | Average of WD | Average of WD | Average of WD | Average of WD | Average of WD |
| 1            | Andhra      | Vijayawada    | 12            | 1             | 2             | 16            | 1             |
| 2            | Pradesh     | Visakhapatnam | 8             | 9             | 1             | 4             | 9             |
| 3            | Assam       | Guwahati      | 2             | 1             | 1             | 3             | 1             |
| 4            | Bihar       | Patna         | 2             | 1             | 1             | 3             | 1             |
| 5            | Chandigarh  | Chandigarh    | 1             | 1             | 1             | 4             | 1             |
| 6            | Chattisgarh | Raipur        | 1             | 1             | 1             | 2             | 1             |
| 7 Delhi      |             | Delhi         | 11            | 1             | 1             | 33            | 1             |
| 8 Goa        | Panaji      |               | 1             | 1             | 1             | 6             | 1             |
| 9 Gujarat    |             | Ahmedabad     | 7             | 1             | 1             | 6             | 1             |
| 10           | Surat       |               | 15            | 1             | 1             | 3             | 1             |
| 11 Himanchal |             |               |               |               |               |               |               |
| Pradesh      | Shimla      | 1             |               | 1             | 1             | 1             | 1             |
| 12 Jharkhand | Ranchi      |               | 1             | 1             | 1             | 2             | 1             |

WD = Working Days

|                |             |     | PSK            | PSK         | PSK             | POPSK          | POPSK         |
|----------------|-------------|-----|----------------|-------------|-----------------|----------------|---------------|
|                |             |     | Normal Average | PCC Average | Tatkaal Average | Normal Average | PCC           |
| Sl. No.        | State       | RPO | of WD          | of WD       | of WD           | of WD          | Average of WD |
| 13 Jammu &     | Srinagar    | 1   |                | 1           | -               | 3              | 1             |
| Kashmir        |             |     |                |             |                 |                |               |
| 14             | Jammu       | 1   | 1              | -           | 7               |                | 1             |
| 15 Karnataka   | Bangalore   | 7   | 1              | 1           | 5               |                | 1             |
| 16 Kerala      | Cochin      | 3   | 1              | 1           | 7               | 4              |               |
| 17             | Kozhikode   | 4   | 1              | 1           |                 | 7              | 1             |
| 18             | Trivandrum  | 2   | 1              | 1           |                 | 12             | 2             |
| Madhya         |             |     |                |             |                 |                |               |
| 19 Pradesh     | Bhopal      | 1   | 1              | 1           |                 | 4              | 1             |
| 20 Maharashtra | Mumbai      | 16  | 4              | 2           |                 | 21             | 3             |
| 21             | Nagpur      | 1   | 1              |             | 2               | 2              | 1             |
| 22             | Pune        | 15  | 3              | 1           |                 | 6              | 1             |
| 23 Odisha      | Bhubaneswar | 2   | 1              | 1           |                 | 2              | 1             |
| 24 Punjab      | Amritsar    | 1   | 1              | 1           | 7               |                | 1             |
| 25             | Jalandhar   | 1   | 1              | 1           |                 | 1              | 1             |
| 26 Rajasthan   | Jaipur      | 2   | 1              | 1           |                 | 4              | 2             |
| 27             | Kota        | 1   | 1              | 1           |                 | 1              | 1             |

WD = Working Days

WD = Working Days

|              |             |           | PSK           | PSK           | PSK           | POPSK         | POPSK         |
|--------------|-------------|-----------|---------------|---------------|---------------|---------------|---------------|
|              |             |           | Normal        | PCC           | Tatkaal       | Normal        | PCC           |
| Sl. No .     | State       | RPO       | Average of WD | Average of WD | Average of WD | Average of WD | Average of WD |
| 28 29 30     | Tamil Nadu  | Chennai   | 4             | 2             | 1             | 7             | 1             |
| 28 29 30     | Coimbatore  |           | 10            | 1             | 9             | 4             | 1             |
| 28 29 30     | Madurai     | 1         |               | 1             | 1             | 2             | 1             |
| 31           | Trichy      |           | 1             | 1             | 1             | 2             | 1             |
| 32 Telangana | Hyderabad   |           | 7             | 2             | 3             | 2             | 1             |
| 33 Uttar     | Bareilly    |           | 25            | 1             | 1             | 31            | 2             |
| Pradesh 34   | Lucknow     |           | 13            | 4             | 1             | 8             | -             |
| 35           |             | Ghaziabad | 15            | 1             | 1             | 19            | 1             |
| 36           | Uttarakhand | Dehradun  | 8             | 2             | 1             | 3             | 1             |
| 37           | West Bengal | Kolkata   | 4             | 1             | 1             | 3             | 1             |

## ANNEXURE-II

## Average Passport Issuance Time* under 'Normal and Tatkaal' categories (excluding

PV time) during last three years

|                 |                 | 2025   | 2025    | 2024   | 2024    | 2023   | 2023    |
|-----------------|-----------------|--------|---------|--------|---------|--------|---------|
| RPO Name        | State           | Normal | Tatkaal | Normal | Tatkaal | Normal | Tatkaal |
| RPO Ahmedabad   | Gujarat         | 12     | 5       | 14     | 4       | 20     | 2       |
| RPO Amritsar    | Punjab          | 12     | 5       | 19     | 4       | 11     | 2       |
| RPO Bareilly    | Uttar Pradesh   | 21     | 4       | 19     | 4       | 19     | 2       |
| RPO Bengaluru   | Karnataka       | 15     | 4       | 13     | 3       | 7      | 1       |
| RPO Bhopal      | Madhya Pradesh  | 10     | 2       | 9      | 1       | 8      | 1       |
| RPO Bhubaneswar | Odisha          | 32     | 7       | 40     | 6       | 15     | 2       |
| RPO Chandigarh  | Chandigarh      | 17     | 5       | 16     | 4       | 14     | 1       |
| RPO Chennai     | Tamil Nadu      | 11     | 3       | 7      | 2       | 4      | 1       |
| RPO Cochin      | Kerala          | 5      | 1       | 4      | 1       | 4      | 1       |
| RPO Coimbatore  | Tamil Nadu      | 21     | 4       | 21     | 2       | 6      | 2       |
| RPO Dehradun    | Uttarakhand     | 34     | 6       | 24     | 3       | 21     | 3       |
| RPO Delhi       | Delhi           | 10     | 2       | 16     | 3       | 10     | 2       |
| RPO Ghaziabad   | Uttar Pradesh   | 13     | 3       | 26     | 5       | 30     | 4       |
| RPO Goa         | Goa             | 4      | 2       | 3      | 1       | 2      | 1       |
| RPO Guwahati    | Assam           | 18     | 6       | 16     | 3       | 9      | 4       |
| RPO Hyderabad   | Telangana       | 13     | 4       | 12     | 2       | 13     | 2       |
| RPO Jaipur      | Rajasthan       | 17     | 6       | 14     | 1       | 9      | 1       |
| RPO Jalandhar   | Punjab          | 7      | 2       | 13     | 2       | 5      | 1       |
| RPO Jammu       | Jammu & Kashmir | 21     | -       | 34     | -       | 11     | -       |
| RPO Kolkata     | West Bengal     | 20     | 4       | 28     | 2       | 6      | 1       |

|                     |                  | 2025   | 2025    | 2024   | 2024    | 2023   | 2023    |
|---------------------|------------------|--------|---------|--------|---------|--------|---------|
| RPO Name            | State            | Normal | Tatkaal | Normal | Tatkaal | Normal | Tatkaal |
| RPO Kota            | Rajasthan        | 15     | 4       | 13     | 1       | 5      | -       |
| RPO Kozhikode       | Kerala           | 5      | 1       | 4      | 1       | 4      | -       |
| RPO Lucknow         | Uttar Pradesh    | 15     | 4       | 12     | 3       | 7      | 2       |
| RPO Madurai         | Tamil Nadu       | 9      | 6       | 8      | 5       | 6      | 3       |
| RPO Mumbai          | Maharashtra      | 10     | 3       | 15     | 1       | 6      | 1       |
| RPO Nagpur          | Maharashtra      | 22     | 5       | 23     | 4       | 7      | 1       |
| RPO Patna           | Bihar            | 8      | 1       | 12     | 1       | 5      | 1       |
| RPO Pune            | Maharashtra      | 12     | 6       | 10     | 3       | 10     | 2       |
| RPO Raipur          | Chhattisgarh     | 40     | 14      | 28     | -       | 18     | 1       |
| RPO Ranchi          | Jharkhand        | 10     | 5       | 12     | 4       | 15     | 3       |
| RPO Shimla          | Himachal Pradesh | 8      | 3       | 6      | -       | 6      | -       |
| RPO Srinagar        | Jammu & Kashmir  | 6      | -       | 50     | -       | 6      | -       |
| RPO Surat           | Gujarat          | 18     | 5       | 19     | 4       | 19     | 1       |
| RPO Tiruchirappalli | Tamil Nadu       | 8      | 5       | 7      | 2       | 5      | 1       |
| RPO Trivandrum      | Kerala           | 9      | 2       | 7      | 1       | 9      | 1       |
| RPO Vijayawada      | Andhra Pradesh   | 15     | 4       | 11     | 3       | 11     | 3       |
| RPO Visakhapatnam   | Andhra Pradesh   | 13     | 4       | 15     | 3       | 11     | 3       |

* excludes escalated, adverse, stop cases.         - = not available

## Annexure-III

| Complaints/Grievances Received by Pride (Excluding Missions)   |   Complaints/Grievances Received by Pride (Excluding Missions) |   Complaints/Grievances Received by Pride (Excluding Missions) |   Complaints/Grievances Received by Pride (Excluding Missions) | Complaints/Grievances Received by Pride (Excluding Missions)   |
|----------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------|
| Complaints/Grievances Type                                     |                                                           2023 |                                                           2024 |                                                           2025 | Total Count                                                    |
| Appointments not honored by the Passport Official              |                                                           1884 |                                                           1387 |                                                           1935 | 5206                                                           |
| Appreciation                                                   |                                                            304 |                                                            238 |                                                            361 | 903                                                            |
| Bad Behaviour by Customer Care Executive (CCE)                 |                                                            131 |                                                             97 |                                                            108 | 336                                                            |
| CCE unreachable during working time                            |                                                            168 |                                                            124 |                                                            126 | 418                                                            |
| Complaint Against a Police Officer                             |                                                           1095 |                                                            970 |                                                           1257 | 3322                                                           |
| Delay in granting appointment date at PBO/ PSK                 |                                                           2317 |                                                           1501 |                                                           1486 | 5304                                                           |
| File lost by Passport Office (PO)                              |                                                            239 |                                                            236 |                                                            226 | 701                                                            |
| Incorrect Details in Passport                                  |                                                            994 |                                                            904 |                                                           1115 | 3013                                                           |
| Incorrect/Insufficient details provided by CCE                 |                                                            191 |                                                            131 |                                                            193 | 515                                                            |
| Information sought from the website is not available           |                                                            269 |                                                            275 |                                                            365 | 909                                                            |
| Interactive Voice Response (IVR) Related issues                |                                                              8 |                                                             10 |                                                              9 | 27                                                             |
| Non acceptance of Passport Application and documents at Portal |                                                            232 |                                                            214 |                                                            301 | 747                                                            |
| Non acceptance of passport application and documents at PO     |                                                            338 |                                                            326 |                                                            336 | 1000                                                           |
| Non acceptance of passport application and documents at PSK    |                                                            807 |                                                            754 |                                                            805 | 2366                                                           |
| Passport Application not accepted at Granting Counter          |                                                           2009 |                                                           1536 |                                                           1754 | 5299                                                           |
| Passport Application not accepted at Verification Counter      |                                                           2151 |                                                           1675 |                                                           2259 | 6085                                                           |
| Passport dispatched but not received                           |                                                           1847 |                                                           1630 |                                                           1878 | 5355                                                           |
| Passport Granted but not printed                               |                                                           4483 |                                                           3885 |                                                           5669 | 14037                                                          |
| Passport lost in dispatch                                      |                                                             92 |                                                            134 |                                                            107 | 333                                                            |
| Passport Seva website is working slow                          |                                                             21 |                                                             37 |                                                             48 | 106                                                            |
| Passport Seva website not working                              |                                                            220 |                                                            498 |                                                            672 | 1390                                                           |
| Problem in attaching documents                                 |                                                            225 |                                                            115 |                                                            152 | 492                                                            |
| Problem in retrieving file during the second session           |                                                             94 |                                                            103 |                                                            207 | 404                                                            |

| Greivance Type                                 |   2023 |   2024 |   2025 |   Total Count |
|------------------------------------------------|--------|--------|--------|---------------|
| Problem in uploading of the form               |    199 |    184 |    272 |           655 |
| Police Verification Report (PVR) not completed |   9955 |   9272 |  10472 |         29699 |
| PVR received but passport not issued           |  18846 |  13585 |  14539 |         46970 |
| Quality of booklet received not satisfactory   |    220 |    169 |    296 |           685 |
| Suggestion                                     |   1370 |   1243 |   1557 |          4170 |
| Website not updated                            |    389 |    426 |    445 |          1260 |
| Any Other                                      |  68038 |  57916 |  65072 |        191026 |
| Total                                          | 119136 |  99575 | 114022 |        332733 |

Annexure-IV Total number of passport applications pending for police verification for more than 30 days, State-wise

| Sl.No.   | State Name             |   Files with PV Pending for more than 30 days |
|----------|------------------------|-----------------------------------------------|
| 1        | Andaman and Nicobar    |                                            13 |
| 2        | Andhra Pradesh         |                                            28 |
| 3        | Arunachal Pradesh      |                                          7478 |
| 4        | Assam                  |                                          4823 |
| 5        | Bihar                  |                                           102 |
| 6        | Chandigarh             |                                             3 |
| 7        | Chhattisgarh           |                                          1364 |
| 8        | Dadra and Nagar Haveli |                                           306 |
| 9        | Daman and Diu          |                                           888 |
| 10       | Goa                    |                                            40 |
| 11       | Gujarat                |                                            13 |
| 12       | Haryana                |                                          4168 |
| 13       | Himachal Pradesh       |                                            19 |
| 14       | Jammu and Kashmir      |                                         56104 |
| 15       | Jharkhand              |                                          1097 |
| 16       | Karnataka              |                                           809 |
| 17       | Kerala                 |                                           160 |
| 18       | Ladakh                 |                                          1401 |
| 19       | Lakshadweep            |                                             5 |
| 20       | Madhya Pradesh         |                                          1111 |
| 21       | Maharashtra            |                                        127543 |
| 22       | Manipur                |                                         15181 |
| 23       | Meghalaya              |                                           788 |
| 24       | Mizoram                |                                           130 |
| 25       | Nagaland               |                                          8611 |
| 26       | Odisha                 |                                           474 |
| 27       | Puducherry             |                                           897 |
| 28       | Punjab                 |                                          1427 |
| 29       | Rajasthan              |                                          2369 |
| 30       | Sikkim                 |                                           227 |
| 31       | Tamil Nadu             |                                          1996 |
| 32       | Telangana              |                                           219 |
| 33       | Tripura                |                                          7995 |
| 34       | Uttar Pradesh          |                                           429 |
| 35       | Uttarakhand            |                                           195 |
| 36       | West Bengal            |                                         29516 |
|          | Total                  |                                        277929 |

(As on 01.12.2025)

*****