External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Friday announced a series of people-friendly measures in passport services. The Government has decided to reduce the passport fee for applicants under eight and over 60 years of age. Ration cards can be submitted while applying for passports, including tatkal, instead of Pan Card. While applying for tatkal passports, the applicants can give a copy of their Aadhaar, Pan or ration card, voter identification card apart from a self-attested letter declaring he/she does not have any criminal complaint against him/her to fasten the process. And, passports will now be in both Hindi and English instead of just English. The Minister said the changes are aimed at easing the process of getting a passport.
Swaraj said that after studying the passport rules, she realised that some norms were unnecessary, obsolete or impractical. She added that police verification, an important part of the passport issuing process, takes time and asked other States to emulate the examples set by the police of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Delhi, Chandigarh, Gujarat and Goa that completes the verification process in less than six days.
The Minister added that giving the option of submitting a ration card would greatly help people in rural areas who do not have a Pan card. Swaraj said she had received several complaints about the personal details in passports being printed only in English.
“Passports should at least be bilingual. All Arab countries have their passport in Arabic, Germany makes it in German and Russia makes it in Russian. Why can’t we make it HindiIJ Now, we have given an order to Nashik Printing Press that passports should be (printed) in Hindi as well. So you will receive passports in Hindi and English…There will be a 10 per cent reduction in passport fee for applicants who are under eight and over 60. And this will be applicable from tomorrow,” Swaraj said at an event to mark 50 years of the Passport Act, 1967.
The Minister highlighted the steps taken by her Ministry in easing rules for getting the international travel document, especially for orphans, single mothers and divorced women. “The year that went by will go down in history as the one in which this Ministry took path-breaking steps in its endeavour towards building better passport delivery mechanisms. Not only did we simplify the Passport Rules but also we took giant strides in taking passport services closer to our citizens,” she said.
The Government has decided to set up 235 POPSK in two phases — 86 in Phase-I and 149 in Phase-II. The 52 POPSK identified in Phase-I have already been operationalised with an aim to reduce the travel distance for the applicants to get a passport.
Swaraj also tried to assuage fears of passport department officials with regard to their promotion and career growth saying that would not be hampered because of Post Office Passport Seva Kendras (PoPSK). “No work will be done by the Ministry that is detrimental to your interests. I take this responsibility that your interests will not be hampered,” she told the passport officials.