India integrates 174 Indian Embassies and Consulates with Passport Seva Program

As part of the global outreach exercise, the ministry has integrated 174 Indian Embassies and Consulates aboard with the Passport Seva Programme, says Union Foreign Minister S Jaishankar. He said the mandate of the government was to ensure efficient governance and timely, effective, assured, transparent and accountable public service delivery.

Jaishankar, on the occasion of Passport Deva Divas, said the ministry should complete the Mission integration process on priority. “The government’s “Apply from Anywhere for Passport scheme” and the “mPassport Seva App”, that was available on both android and iOS platforms, launched in July 2016, continue to provide ease of submission of application at any Passport Kendra across the country, irrespective of residential jurisdiction,” he explained. “In February this year, the ministry integrated the Passport Seva Programme with DigiLocker bringing about a major digital transformation in delivery of Passport services.”

The minister said this has enabled citizens to submit various documents for obtaining passport services through DigiLocker in a paperless mode. “They are not required to carry the original documents.”

Jaishankar feels confident that integration with Aadhaar currently underway will further enhance and ease the passport issuance process. He added that it should be expedited for completion at an early date. “Annually, over one crore passports have been issued during three consecutive years till 2019. Despite the pandemic, we continued to deliver passports in a timely manner and hope to reach pre-pandemic levels as soon as possible.”

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The minister applauded officials for their work on ensuring issuance of passports during the pandemic and commended the police forces in different by for ensuring the verification process despite the challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.