Lok Sabha Question No. 3013 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-03-11
Subject: Post Office Passport Seva Kendras (POPSKs)
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: Shri Rajesh Naranbhai Chudasama, Shri Godam Nagesh, Shri Bhojraj Nag, Dr. Nishikant Dubey, Shri Chavda Vinod Lakhamshi, Shri Chintamani Maharaj, Shri Naba Charan Majhi, Shri Lavu Sri Krishna Devarayalu, Shri Shankar Lalwani, Shri Manish Jaiswal, Smt. Shobhanaben Mahendrasinh Baraiya, Shri Ajay Kumar Mandal, Shri P P Chaudhary, Shri Balabhadra Majhi, Dr. Bhola Singh, Shri Tejasvi Surya

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF POSTS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3013 TO BE ANSWERED ON 11 TH  MARCH, 2026

## POST OFFICE PASSPORT SEVA KENDRAS (POPSKS)

## 3013.   SHRI RAJESH NARANBHAI CHUDASAMA:

DR. NISHIKANT DUBEY:

SHRI LAVU SRI KRISHNA DEVARAYALU:

SHRI P P CHAUDHARY:

SHRI BHOJRAJ NAG:

SHRI MANISH JAISWAL:

SMT. SHOBHANABEN MAHENDRASINH BARAIYA:

DR. BHOLA SINGH:

SHRI TEJASVI SURYA:

SHRI SHANKAR LALWANI:

SHRI GODAM NAGESH:

SHRI AJAY KUMAR MANDAL:

SHRI BALABHADRA MAJHI:

SHRI CHINTAMANI MAHARAJ:

SHRI CHAVDA VINOD LAKHAMSHI:

SHRI NABA CHARAN MAJHI:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

- (a) the details of  the  progress  made  so  far  under the  plan to open  Post  Office Passport  Seva Kendras (POPSKs) through India Post in all Lok Sabha constituencies along with State and circlewise details of operational centres, particularly in Rajasthan including Pali Lok Sabha Constituency, Jharkhand including Hazaribagh and Ramgarh districts, Bhagalpur, Kankar Lok Sabha Constituency, State  of  Telangana,  Nabarangpur Lok Sabha Constituency of Indore, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh including Bulandshahr district;
- (b) the year-wise number of passport applications processed under the Passport Seva Programme of the Ministry of External Affairs during the last three years and details of new services/facilities including police verification facilitation, mobile POPSKs or tatkal processing support introduced during this period;
- (c) whether  the  Government  has  assessed  the  impact  of  establishing  POPSKs  on  improving access to passport  services,  particularly  in  remote  and  semi-urban  areas such  as  Hazaribagh  and Ramgarh districts of Jharkhand and Kachchh Lok Sabha Constituency;
- (d) if so, the details of findings, number of beneficiaries, reduction in average processing time and increase in regional coverage;
- (e) the steps taken to expand passport service in underserved districts;
- (f) the  manner  in  which  such  initiatives  have  improved  accessibility,  efficiency  and  citizen convenience; and

(g) whether any directive has been issued to the Patna Postal Circle for the establishment of a Post Office Passport Seva Kendra (POPSK) in the Bhagalpur Lok Sabha Constituency and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR COMMUNICATIONS AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT (DR. PEMMASANI CHANDRA SEKHAR)

(a) As on date, 452 Post Office Passport Seva Kendras (POPSK)  have been operationalized across 23 Circles.

The list of number of operational POPSKs in each state /Circle is enclosed as Annexure I. The details of POPSKs in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Bihar, Telangana, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh are enclosed as Annexure II .

(b) Details of the number of Passport applications including Police Clearance Certificates in the last three years are : 35,05,818 ( 2023) , 32,38,811 ( 2024) and 39,59,325 ( 2025 ) .

(c) Yes,  Sir.  With  a  clear  focus  on  improving  citizen  convenience  and  expanding  access  to essential  passport  services,  the  Department  of  Posts  (DoP)  has  made  sustained  efforts  to  extend facilities  to  remote  and  semi-urban  regions  including  operationalizing  POPSKs  at  Hazaribagh, Koderma, and Chatra, which has substantially reduced travel time, minimized waiting periods, and made the application process more accessible.

(d) Since  operationalization,  POPSK  Hazaribagh  has  processed  53,440  applications  (since February 2018), POPSK Koderma has processed 19,166 applications (since February 2019), and POPSK  Chatra  has  processed  4,824  applications  (since  February  2019).  These  figures  clearly demonstrate that a substantial number of citizens have benefited from the availability of passport services closer to their place of residence through these decentralized facilities.

(e) POPSKs  are  operational  in  452  Post  offices  all  over  India  thereby  serving  underserved districts.

(f) This  initiative  ensures  that  even  smaller  towns,  underserved  districts  have  access  to  Post Office passport Sewa Kendras . The citizens don't have to travel long distance for availing passport services, and the facility saves their valuable time, money and energy.

(g) A POPSK at Bhagalpur in Bhagalpur Lok Sabha Constituency in Bihar Circle is already operational since March 2017.

Annexure I

| No. of POPSKs Circle Wise   | No. of POPSKs Circle Wise   | No. of POPSKs Circle Wise   |
|-----------------------------|-----------------------------|-----------------------------|
| Sl. No.                     | Name of Circle              | No. of POPSKs               |
| 1                           | Andhra Pradesh              | 21                          |
| 2                           | Assam                       | 15                          |
| 3                           | Bihar                       | 37                          |
| 4                           | Chhattisgarh                | 9                           |
| 5                           | Delhi                       | 5                           |
| 6                           | Gujarat                     | 25                          |
| 7                           | Haryana                     | 11                          |
| 8                           | Himachal Pradesh            | 6                           |
| 9                           | J&K                         | 6                           |
| 10                          | Jharkhand                   | 15                          |
| 11                          | Karnataka                   | 23                          |
| 12                          | Kerala                      | 9                           |
| 13                          | Madhya Pradesh              | 25                          |
| 14                          | Maharashtra                 | 42                          |
| 15                          | North East                  | 5                           |
| 16                          | Odisha                      | 20                          |
| 17                          | Punjab                      | 9                           |
| 18                          | Rajasthan                   | 24                          |
| 19                          | Tamil Nadu                  | 32                          |
| 20                          | Telangana                   | 14                          |
| 21                          | Uttar Pradesh               | 52                          |
| 22                          | Uttarakhand                 | 6                           |
| 23                          | West Bengal                 | 41                          |
|                             | TOTAL                       | 452                         |

|                                                                                            |                                                                                            |                                                                                            | Annexure II                                                                                |
|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| POPSKs of 8 Circles (Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, MP, Odisha, Rajasthan, Telangana &UP) | POPSKs of 8 Circles (Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, MP, Odisha, Rajasthan, Telangana &UP) | POPSKs of 8 Circles (Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, MP, Odisha, Rajasthan, Telangana &UP) | POPSKs of 8 Circles (Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, MP, Odisha, Rajasthan, Telangana &UP) |
| Sl.                                                                                        | Sl.                                                                                        | Sl.                                                                                        | Sl.                                                                                        |
| No.                                                                                        | Name of Circle                                                                             | Parliamentary Constituency                                                                 | Name of POPSK                                                                              |
| 1                                                                                          | Bihar                                                                                      | Araria                                                                                     | Forbesganj                                                                                 |
| 2                                                                                          | Bihar                                                                                      | Arrah                                                                                      | Arrah                                                                                      |
| 3                                                                                          | Bihar                                                                                      | Aurangabad(BR)                                                                             | Aurangabad (Bihar)                                                                         |
| 4                                                                                          | Bihar                                                                                      | Banka                                                                                      | Banka                                                                                      |
| 5                                                                                          | Bihar                                                                                      | Begusarai                                                                                  | Begusarai                                                                                  |
| 6                                                                                          | Bihar                                                                                      | Bhagalpur                                                                                  | Bhagalpur                                                                                  |
| 7                                                                                          | Bihar                                                                                      | Buxar                                                                                      | Buxar                                                                                      |
| 8                                                                                          | Bihar                                                                                      | Dalsingsarai                                                                               | Dalsingsarai                                                                               |
| 9                                                                                          | Bihar                                                                                      | Gaya                                                                                       | Gaya                                                                                       |
| 10                                                                                         | Bihar                                                                                      | Gopalganj                                                                                  | Gopalganj                                                                                  |
| 11                                                                                         | Bihar                                                                                      | Hajipur                                                                                    | Hajipur                                                                                    |
| 12                                                                                         | Bihar                                                                                      | Jamui                                                                                      | Jamui                                                                                      |
| 13                                                                                         | Bihar                                                                                      | Jehanabad                                                                                  | Jehanabad                                                                                  |
| 14                                                                                         | Bihar                                                                                      | Jhanjharpur                                                                                | Rajnagar                                                                                   |
| 15                                                                                         | Bihar                                                                                      | Karakat                                                                                    | Dalmianagar                                                                                |
| 16                                                                                         | Bihar                                                                                      | Katihar                                                                                    | Katihar                                                                                    |
| 17                                                                                         | Bihar                                                                                      | Khagaria                                                                                   | Khagaria                                                                                   |
| 18                                                                                         | Bihar                                                                                      | Kishanganj                                                                                 | Kishanganj                                                                                 |
| 19                                                                                         | Bihar                                                                                      | Madhubani                                                                                  | Madhubani                                                                                  |
| 20                                                                                         | Bihar                                                                                      | Maharajganj (BR)                                                                           | Ekma (Maharajganj)                                                                         |
| 21                                                                                         | Bihar                                                                                      | Munger                                                                                     | Munger                                                                                     |
| 22                                                                                         | Bihar                                                                                      | Muzaffarpur                                                                                | Muzaffarpur                                                                                |
| 23                                                                                         | Bihar                                                                                      | Nalanda                                                                                    | Biharsarif (Nalanda)                                                                       |
| 24                                                                                         | Bihar                                                                                      | Nawada                                                                                     | Nawada                                                                                     |
| 25                                                                                         | Bihar                                                                                      | Paschim Champaran                                                                          | Bettiah                                                                                    |
| 26                                                                                         | Bihar                                                                                      | Purnia                                                                                     | Purnea                                                                                     |
| 27                                                                                         | Bihar                                                                                      | Purvi Champaran                                                                            | Motihari                                                                                   |
| 28                                                                                         | Bihar                                                                                      | Saharsa                                                                                    | Saharsa                                                                                    |
| 29                                                                                         | Bihar                                                                                      | Samastipur                                                                                 | Samastipur                                                                                 |
| 30                                                                                         | Bihar                                                                                      | Saran                                                                                      | Chhapra                                                                                    |
| 31                                                                                         | Bihar                                                                                      | Sasaram                                                                                    | Sasaram                                                                                    |
| 32                                                                                         | Bihar                                                                                      | Sheohar                                                                                    | Sheohar                                                                                    |
| 33                                                                                         | Bihar                                                                                      | Sitamarhi                                                                                  | Sitamarhi                                                                                  |
| 34                                                                                         | Bihar                                                                                      | Siwan                                                                                      | Siwan                                                                                      |
| 35                                                                                         | Bihar                                                                                      | Supaul                                                                                     | Supaul                                                                                     |
| 36                                                                                         | Bihar                                                                                      | Ujiarpur                                                                                   | Manner                                                                                     |
| 37                                                                                         | Bihar                                                                                      | Vaishali                                                                                   | Bakhra                                                                                     |
| 38                                                                                         | Chhattisgarh                                                                               | Bastar                                                                                     | Baster                                                                                     |
| 39                                                                                         | Chhattisgarh                                                                               | Bilaspur                                                                                   | R K Nagar Bilaspur Durg                                                                    |
| 40                                                                                         | Chhattisgarh                                                                               | Durg                                                                                       |                                                                                            |
| 41                                                                                         | Chhattisgarh                                                                               | Janjgir-Champa                                                                             | Janjgir-Champa                                                                             |

|   42 | Chhattisgarh   | Kanker      | Kanker                 |
|------|----------------|-------------|------------------------|
|   43 | Chhattisgarh   | Korba       | Korba                  |
|   44 | Chhattisgarh   | Raigarh     | Raigarh                |
|   45 | Chhattisgarh   | Rajnandgaon | Rajnandgaon            |
|   46 | Chhattisgarh   | Surguja     | Ambikapur (Surguja)    |
|   47 | Jharkhand      | Chatra      | shimaria               |
|   48 | Jharkhand      | Dhanbad     | Sector-IX (Bokaro)     |
|   49 | Jharkhand      | Dhanbad     | Dhanbad                |
|   50 | Jharkhand      | Dumka       | Dumka                  |
|   51 | Jharkhand      | Giridih     | Girdihi                |
|   52 | Jharkhand      | Godda       | B. Deoghar             |
|   53 | Jharkhand      | Godda       | Godda                  |
|   54 | Jharkhand      | Hazaribagh  | Hazaribagh             |
|   55 | Jharkhand      | Jamshedpur  | Jamshedpur             |
|   56 | Jharkhand      | Khunti      | Khunti                 |
|   57 | Jharkhand      | Koderma     | Jumri Tilaiya          |
|   58 | Jharkhand      | Lohardaga   | Gumla                  |
|   59 | Jharkhand      | Palamu      | Medininagar Daltonganj |
|   60 | Jharkhand      | Rajmahal    | Sahebganj              |
|   61 | Jharkhand      | Singhbhum   | Chilbasha              |
|   62 | Madhya Pradesh | Balaghat    | Balaghat               |
|   63 | Madhya Pradesh | Betul       | Betul                  |
|   64 | Madhya Pradesh | Bhind       | Bhind                  |
|   65 | Madhya Pradesh | Chhindwara  | Chhindwara             |
|   66 | Madhya Pradesh | Damoh       | Damoh                  |
|   67 | Madhya Pradesh | Dewas       | Dewas                  |
|   68 | Madhya Pradesh | Dhar        | Dhar                   |
|   69 | Madhya Pradesh | Guna        | Guna                   |
|   70 | Madhya Pradesh | Gwalior     | Lashkar (Gwalior)      |
|   71 | Madhya Pradesh | Hoshangabad | Hoshangabad            |
|   72 | Madhya Pradesh | Jabalpur    | Jabalpur               |
|   73 | Madhya Pradesh | Khajuraho   | Chhatar pur            |
|   74 | Madhya Pradesh | Khandwa     | Khandwa                |
|   75 | Madhya Pradesh | Khargone    | Khargone               |
|   76 | Madhya Pradesh | Mandla      | Mandla                 |
|   77 | Madhya Pradesh | Mandsaur    | Mandsaur               |
|   78 | Madhya Pradesh | Ratlam      | Ratlam                 |
|   79 | Madhya Pradesh | Rewa        | Rewa                   |
|   80 | Madhya Pradesh | Sagar       | Sagar                  |
|   81 | Madhya Pradesh | Satna       | Satna                  |
|   82 | Madhya Pradesh | Seoni       | Seoni                  |
|   83 | Madhya Pradesh | Shahdol     | Shahdol                |
|   84 | Madhya Pradesh | Tikamgarh   | Tikamgarh              |
|   85 | Madhya Pradesh | Ujjain      | Ujjain                 |
|   86 | Madhya Pradesh | Vidisha     | Vidishamandi           |

|   87 | Odisha    | Aska                | Aska                 |
|------|-----------|---------------------|----------------------|
|   88 | Odisha    | Balasore            | Balasore             |
|   89 | Odisha    | Bargarh             | Bargarh              |
|   90 | Odisha    | Berhampur           | Berhampur            |
|   91 | Odisha    | Bhadrak             | Bhadrak              |
|   92 | Odisha    | Bolangir            | Bolangir             |
|   93 | Odisha    | Cuttack             | Cuttack              |
|   94 | Odisha    | Dhenkanal           | Dhenkanal            |
|   95 | Odisha    | Jagatsinghpur       | Jagatsinghpur        |
|   96 | Odisha    | Jajpur              | Jajpur               |
|   97 | Odisha    | Kalahandi           | Bhawanipatna         |
|   98 | Odisha    | Kandhamal           | Phulbhani (Kandhmal) |
|   99 | Odisha    | Kendrapara          | Kendrapara           |
|  100 | Odisha    | Keonjhar            | Keonjhargarh         |
|  101 | Odisha    | Koraput             | Koraput              |
|  102 | Odisha    | Mayurbhanj          | Baripada             |
|  103 | Odisha    | Nabarangpur         | Nabrangpur           |
|  104 | Odisha    | Puri                | Puri                 |
|  105 | Odisha    | Sambalpur           | Sambalpur            |
|  106 | Odisha    | Sundargarh          | Rourkela             |
|  107 | Rajasthan | Ajmer               | Ajmer                |
|  108 | Rajasthan | Alwar               | Alwar                |
|  109 | Rajasthan | Banswara            | Banswara             |
|  110 | Rajasthan | Banswara            | Pratapgarh           |
|  111 | Rajasthan | Barmer              | Barmer               |
|  112 | Rajasthan | Barmer              | Jaisalmer            |
|  113 | Rajasthan | Bharatpur           | Bharatpur            |
|  114 | Rajasthan | Bhilwara            | Bhilwara City        |
|  115 | Rajasthan | Bikaner             | Bikaner              |
|  116 | Rajasthan | Chittorgarh         | Chittorgarh          |
|  117 | Rajasthan | Churu               | Churu                |
|  118 | Rajasthan | Dausa               | Dausa                |
|  119 | Rajasthan | Ganganagar          | Hanumangarh          |
|  120 | Rajasthan | Ganganagar          | Sriganganagar        |
|  121 | Rajasthan | Jaipur              | Kotputli             |
|  122 | Rajasthan | Jalore              | Sirohi               |
|  123 | Rajasthan | Jhalawar-Baran      | Jhalawar             |
|  124 | Rajasthan | Jhunjhunu           | Jhunjhunu            |
|  125 | Rajasthan | Karauli-Dholpur     | Dholpur              |
|  126 | Rajasthan | Kota                | Kota                 |
|  127 | Rajasthan | Nagaur              | Nagaur City          |
|  128 | Rajasthan | Pali                | Pali                 |
|  129 | Rajasthan | Rajsamand           | Kankroli             |
|  130 | Rajasthan | Tonk-Sawai Madhopur | Tonk-Sawai Madhopur  |
|  131 | Telangana | Adilabad            | Adilabad             |

|   132 | Telangana     | Bhongir (part of Nalgonda constituency)          | Bhongir                      |
|-------|---------------|--------------------------------------------------|------------------------------|
|   133 | Telangana     | Chevella                                         | Vikarabad                    |
|   134 | Telangana     | Khammam                                          | Khammam                      |
|   135 | Telangana     | Mahabubabad                                      | Mahabubabad                  |
|   136 | Telangana     | Mahabubnagar                                     | Mehbubnagar                  |
|   137 | Telangana     | Malkajgiri                                       | Medchal                      |
|   138 | Telangana     | Medak                                            | Medak                        |
|   139 | Telangana     | Medak                                            | Siddipet                     |
|   140 | Telangana     | Nagarkurnool (part of Mahabubnagar constituency) | Nagarkurnool (Wanaparthy)    |
|   141 | Telangana     | Nalgonda                                         | Nalgonda                     |
|   142 | Telangana     | Peddapalli                                       | Peddapalle (Mancherial)      |
|   143 | Telangana     | Warangal                                         | Hanamkonda (warangal)        |
|   144 | Telangana     | Zahirabad                                        | Kamareddy                    |
|   145 | Uttar Pradesh | Agra                                             | Agra Fort                    |
|   146 | Uttar Pradesh | Aligarh                                          | Aligarh                      |
|   147 | Uttar Pradesh | Ambedkar Nagar                                   | Ambedkarnagar                |
|   148 | Uttar Pradesh | Amethi                                           | Amethi                       |
|   149 | Uttar Pradesh | Amroha                                           | Amroha                       |
|   150 | Uttar Pradesh | Azamgarh                                         | Azamgarh                     |
|   151 | Uttar Pradesh | Badaun                                           | Badaun                       |
|   152 | Uttar Pradesh | Baghpat                                          | Baghpat                      |
|   153 | Uttar Pradesh | Bahraich                                         | Bahraich                     |
|   154 | Uttar Pradesh | Ballia                                           | Ballia                       |
|   155 | Uttar Pradesh | Banda                                            | Banda                        |
|   156 | Uttar Pradesh | Bhadohi                                          | Bhadohi                      |
|   157 | Uttar Pradesh | Bijnore                                          | Bijnore                      |
|   158 | Uttar Pradesh | Bulandshahar                                     | Bulandshahar                 |
|   159 | Uttar Pradesh | Deoria                                           | Deoria                       |
|   160 | Uttar Pradesh | Domariyaganj                                     | Tetri Bazar (Siddhart Nagar) |
|   161 | Uttar Pradesh | Etawah                                           | Etawah                       |
|   162 | Uttar Pradesh | Faizabad                                         | Faizabad (Ayodhaya)          |
|   163 | Uttar Pradesh | Farrukhabad                                      | Farrukhabad                  |
|   164 | Uttar Pradesh | Fatehpur                                         | Fatehpur (Acchnera)          |
|   165 | Uttar Pradesh | Fatehpur Sikri                                   | Fatehpur Sikri               |
|   166 | Uttar Pradesh | Gautam Buddha Nagar                              | Noida                        |
|   167 | Uttar Pradesh | Ghazipur                                         | Ghazipur                     |
|   168 | Uttar Pradesh | Gonda                                            | Gonda                        |
|   169 | Uttar Pradesh | Hamirpur(UP)                                     | Hamirpur                     |
|   170 | Uttar Pradesh | Hardoi                                           | Hardoi                       |
|   171 | Uttar Pradesh | Hathras                                          | Hathras                      |
|   172 | Uttar Pradesh | Jalaun                                           | Jalaun                       |
|   173 | Uttar Pradesh | Jaunpur                                          | Jaunpur                      |
|   174 | Uttar Pradesh | Jhansi                                           | Jhansi                       |
|   175 | Uttar Pradesh | Kheri                                            | Kheri                        |

|   177 | Uttar Pradesh   | Maharajganj (UP)   | Maharajganj        |
|-------|-----------------|--------------------|--------------------|
|   178 | Uttar Pradesh   | Mathura            | Vrindavan          |
|   179 | Uttar Pradesh   | Ghosi              | Mau                |
|   180 | Uttar Pradesh   | Meerut             | Meerut Cantt       |
|   181 | Uttar Pradesh   | Mirzapur           | Chunar             |
|   182 | Uttar Pradesh   | Misrikh            | Mishrikh           |
|   183 | Uttar Pradesh   | Moradabad          | Moradabad          |
|   184 | Uttar Pradesh   | Muzaffarnagar      | Muzaffarnagar City |
|   185 | Uttar Pradesh   | Nagina             | Nagina             |
|   186 | Uttar Pradesh   | Pilibhit           | Pilibhit           |
|   187 | Uttar Pradesh   | Pratapgarh         | Pratapgarh         |
|   188 | Uttar Pradesh   | Prayagraj          | Allahabad          |
|   189 | Uttar Pradesh   | Rae Bareli         | Rae Bareli         |
|   190 | Uttar Pradesh   | Rampur             | Rampur             |
|   191 | Uttar Pradesh   | Saharanpur         | Saharanpur         |
|   192 | Uttar Pradesh   | Shahjahanpur       | Sahajhanpur        |
|   193 | Uttar Pradesh   | Shrawasti          | Balrampur          |
|   194 | Uttar Pradesh   | Sitapur            | Sitapur            |
|   195 | Uttar Pradesh   | Sultanpur          | Sultanpur          |
|   196 | Uttar Pradesh   | Unnao              | Unnao              |

*****