The chip in the passports would carry the details of the passport holder in electronic form and this would, in all likelihood, put an end to forged passports
Electronic passports embedded with a chip for fool-proof security following norms of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAI) are likely to be rolled out by the year-end or early next year, according to Secretary (Consular and Diaspora), Ministry of External Affairs, Ausaf Sayeed reported the Hindu.
Sayeed said that the e-passports would not replace old passports and said obtaining them was voluntary. The chip would carry the details of the passport holder in electronic form and this would, in all likelihood, put an end to forged passports.
The RPO Hyderabad, he said, issued 3.43 lakh passports from January to July 2022. In the year 2021, it issued 4,28,246 passports. The services would be expanded as the government plans to have a post office PSK in every Parliamentary constituency
He was speaking to reporters at Hyderabad along with Chief Passport Officer T. Armstrong Changsan, Protector General of Emigrants Bramha Kumar, Regional Passport Officer-Hyderabad Dasari Balaiah, RPO Vishakapatnam Vishwanjali Gaikwad, and RPO Vijayawada D.S.S. Srinivasa Rao.
Sayeed said the RPOs had done their best to clear the huge backlog of passport applications after COVID-19 through optimal utilisation of manpower resources. The demand shot up after the Passport Seva Kendras (PSKs) started functioning fully after the COVID break and the air space for travel opened up. Despite the huge rush, applications under the Tatkal scheme are being cleared within five days and the regular ones within two to three weeks.
The RPO Hyderabad, he said, issued 3.43 lakh passports from January to July 2022. In the year 2021, it issued 4,28,246 passports. The services would be expanded as the government plans to have a post office PSK in every Parliamentary constituency.
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