Speaking on the occasion of Passport Seva Divas, observed on June 24 to mark the enactment of the Passports Act in 1967, officials said a passport attests to the nationality of Indian citizens when they are abroad and is issued only after extensive due diligence involving documents and verification from several government agencies.
According to officials, 14.7 million e-passports have been issued since the launch of the chip-based documents last year under the revamped Passport Seva Programme. These e-passports account for nearly 10 percent of all passports, and all newly issued passports are now chip-based.
The e-passports contain an embedded antenna and a radio frequency identification chip that stores personal details and biometric information. Officials said the advanced features provide enhanced security, significantly reduce the risk of unauthorized access and tampering, and make it more difficult to obtain passports through fraudulent means. They added that the upgraded documents offer greater confidence to immigration authorities overseas and facilitate faster clearance procedures.
Officials said the chips used in e-passports are supplied by the India Security Press in Nashik, which procures them from international sources. Best practices followed by other countries were studied while developing the Indian e-passports, and efforts are continuing to strengthen the security architecture further.
The Ministry of External Affairs also clarified that although Tata Consultancy Services serves as the technology and service provider for the Passport Seva Project, all passport-related data is stored exclusively on the ministry's servers.
As part of efforts to promote safe and legal migration, the ministry will organize a two-day Human Resource Mobility Forum on June 30 and July 1. Denmark, Germany, Italy, Japan and Russia have been identified as focus countries for the event, which is being organized in coordination with the ministries of labour and education. The forum aims to bring together workers, recruitment agencies and foreign employers to facilitate legitimate employment opportunities abroad.
Officials emphasized the importance of proper education and skill training for workers seeking overseas employment and stressed the need for structured recruitment platforms. They referred to incidents involving Indian citizens who were deceived into joining the Russian armed forces and said that ethical employers must be connected with job seekers while making them aware of potential risks and fraudulent practices.
At the same time, the government is working to increase the number of countries offering visa-free entry and visa-on-arrival facilities to Indian citizens. Efforts are also underway to improve the functioning of Passport Seva Kendras and Post Office Passport Seva Kendras and to reduce the time required for processing applications.
Officials said 27 countries currently provide visa-free travel for Indian citizens, compared with 16 in 2019. Another 47 countries offer visa-on-arrival facilities, up from 38 in 2019, while 66 countries provide electronic visa services. India has also signed migration and mobility agreements with 25 countries, mainly in Europe, which have expanded legal migration channels and facilitated the return of illegal migrants.
The average processing time for passport applications has been reduced to five to six days, and measures have been implemented to ensure that applicants spend less than 45 minutes at a Passport Seva Kendra. The number of such centres across the country has increased to 544 from just 77 a decade ago.
Officials further said efforts are underway to shorten the duration of police verification procedures. The government is seeking to replicate the success achieved by several states, where verification is completed within two to three days, in other parts of the country.
The rapid expansion of e-passports, improved passport services and initiatives aimed at promoting legal migration underscore India's broader effort to strengthen the credibility of its travel documents, enhance international mobility and provide faster and more secure services to millions of citizens.
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