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Online Procedure in Passport Seva Kendras: www.passportindia.gov.in

LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO 675  ANSWERED ON 27.02.2013

ONLINE PROCEDURE IN PASSPORT SEVA KENDRAS

(a) whether the Government proposes to set up Passport Seva Kendras in all the districts of the country, including the districts in Gujarat; 
(b) if so, the details thereof; 
(c) whether the Government is aware of the difficulties faced by applicants on account of online procedures, especially in getting appointments for submission of documents for passports; 
(d) if so, the details thereof; and 
(e) the steps taken/being taken to review and simplify the process of online procedure in PSKs so that issuance of new passports/renewal of old passports become easier?

ANSWER

THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS (SHRI E. AHAMED) 
(a) & (b) While the Government, under the Passport Seva Project, has expanded the network of Passport delivery system throughout the country, it is not proposed to set up Passport Seva Kendra in all districts of the country. 

(c) & (d) The passport portal, www.passportindia.gov.in, is web-based and can be accessed by anyone. The citizens are free to apply on line and obtain appointments themselves or seek the assistance of internet café operators or anyone else to obtain appointments. Necessary assistance and guidance is also available at each Passport Seva Kendra for filling up of application forms 
(e) The system has inbuilt checks to ensure that multiple appointments are not booked from a single user-id. Moreover, walk-in facility has been allowed to citizens having Application Registration Number (ARN) to enable them to apply for Tatkal service, issue of PCC, deletion of ECR status, inclusion of name of spouse in the passport and issue of new booklets where pages have been exhausted. Senior citizens above 60 years, minors below 15 years whose parents hold valid passports, differently-abled persons, central/state government employees and their spouse/dependent minor children having ARN have also been permitted walk-in facility, which has eased availability of on-line appointments. The Government has taken up a proposal to introduce pre-payment of passport fee system at the time of seeking appointment to discourage unscrupulous elements from blocking appointments. The Government is also considering to provide facility of online filing of applications at Common Service Centres (CSCs) and Speed Post Centres (SPCs) on payment of nominal fee. 
Source Link: http://164.100.47.132/LssNew/psearch/QResult15.aspx?qref=135384

LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO 140    ANSWERED ON   06.03.2013

PASSPORT OFFICES SEVA KENDRAS

(a) the number of Passport Offices/Seva Kendras functioning in the country, State-wise; 
(b) the number of passports issued, State-wise during the last three years and the current year; 
(c) whether a special drive to speed up processing of pending applications has been launched recently in the country and if so, the details thereof; 
(d) whether there has been a hike in passport fees recently and if so, the details thereof and the reasons therefor; and 
(e) the mechanism in place to redress the grievances of the applicants?

ANSWER

THE MINISTER OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS (SHRI SALMAN KHURSHID) 
(a) to (e) A statement is laid on the Table of the House. 
STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (e) OF LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 140 REGARDING `PASSPORT OFFICES/SEVA KENDRA` 
(a) & (b) The number of Passport Offices/Passport Seva Kendras functioning in the country, State-wise and number of Passports issued State-wise during the last three years and current year (as on 31st January 2013) is at (Annexure-A). 
(c) A special drive to speed up processing of pending applications submitted under old system (NIC) was undertaken in 2012 by the Passport Offices all over India whereby passports were issued in those cases where clear police verification reports were received before 31st December 2012. In cases, wherein police reports were awaited, the files were closed after giving notice to the applicants. Such applicants were advised to submit their new applications under Passport Seva system without any payment of fees. In this connection, Passport Adalats were conducted by many Passport Offices to clear the backlog of objection cases. 
(d) In exercise of the powers conferred by the Passports Act, 1967, the Government revised passport and related services fees w.e.f. 1st October, 2012. The current regime of Passport fee came into force in July 1993 subsequent to the passing of the Passport (Amendment) Bill, 1992 which permits the Government to fix the Passport fee on the basis of actual cost incurred on issuing of a Passport. In 1993, passport fee was fixed at Rs.300/- which was increased to Rs.1000/- when the next revision took place in 2002. Over the last ten years, costs relating to establishment, capital expenditure, procurement of equipment, reimbursement to police authorities, payment to India Posts, printing of passport booklets, personalization costs, IT expenses and contractual payment to Service Providers (such as TCS, NIC, NISG, C-DAC, STQC and ISP) have gone up considerably, which necessitated increase in passport and related services w.e.f. 1st October 2012. The Passport fee has been increased by Rs.500/- raising to Rs.1500/- for normal applications and by Rs.1000/- raising to Rs.3500/- for Tatkal applications. For citizens living abroad, the revised fee is US$ 75.00 (from 40.00) and Euro 60.00 (from 48.00) for normal applications. 
(e) Under the Passport Seva Project (PSP), the Ministry has put in place a strengthened Grievance Redressal system whereby a National Call Centre with a toll free number (1800- 258-1800), operating in 17 languages on 24X7 basis, has been set up to cater to dissemination of information about various services, grievances handling and citizens feedback. Also a help desk has been set up which can be accessed by citizens through the www.passportindia.gov.in portal and where suggestions and grievances can be sent. 
Apart from the above, there is a Public Grievance Redressal Cell (PGRC) established in the CPV Division of the Ministry under the supervision of Chief Passport Officer. It deals with grievances received through telephone, e-mail and post, as also references from various Government Offices. In addition, all Passport Offices handle public grievances through the Centralised Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System (CPGRAM) website of the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions. The latest position on their applications, alongwith directions for further action, is posted on this website, which can be easily accessed by the public. 
The names, addresses and phone numbers of the Public Grievance Officer are also installed in the Passport Offices. The complaint/suggestion boxes are also installed on the strategic locations in the Passport Offices. There is a Public Grievance redressal mechanism in all Passport Offices to enquire into and redress any complaints from citizens in a timeframe. Information and Facilitation counters, PG Cell and Help Desks have been set up to assist applicants and to attend to grievances/complaints expeditiously. 
ANNEXURE OF STARRED QUESTION NO. 140   DATED
ANNEXURE-A
The number of passports issued by Passport Offices
(State-wise) during the last three years
 (2010-2012) and current year (as on 31.1.2013)
Sl.
No.
Name of State/UTs
Passport office
No. of PSK(s)
Name & Location   of PSKs
No. of Passports issued
2010
2011
2012
2013 (as on 31 Jan. 2013)
1.        
Andhra Pradesh
Hyderabad
6
Hyderbad I, Hyderabad II, Hyderabad III, Nizamabad,
Vijayawada
Tirupathi
403303
520105
613769
62389
Visakhapatnam
1
Visakhapatnam
2.        
Assam, Manipur, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh.
Guwahati
1
Guwahati
44737
54483
52111
4655
3.        
Bihar
Patna
1
Patna
170921
17062
133648
16629
4.        
Chandigarh
Chandigarh
3
Chandigarh, Ambala, Ludhiana
233911
254166
282672
22197
5.        
Chattisgarh
Raipur
1
Raipur
26821
33054
32517
2404
6.        
Delhi & Haryana
Delhi
4
Herald House, Shalimar Place,
Bhikaji Cama Place, Gurgaon
281154
335210
264785
35139
7.        
Goa
Panaji
1
Panaji
33687
33455
22498
4902
8.        
Gujarat
Ahmedabad
4
Ahmedabad I
Ahmedabad II, Vadodara, Rajkot
391460
421223
425649
36421
Surat
1
Surat
9.        
Himachal Pradesh
Shimla
1
Shimla
25524
25628
21991
1837
10.    
Jammu & Kashmir
Jammu
1
Jammu
60179
66976
86090
4008
Srinagar
1
Srinagar
11.    
Jharkhand
Ranchi
1
Ranchi
44816
47964
55520
4707
12.    
Karnataka
Bangalore
4
Bangalore-I
Bangalore -II,
Hubli, Mangalore
296212
384044
400263
34024
13.    
Kerala
Trivandrum
3
Kollam,
Trivandrum (Rural),
Neyyattinkara
721218
746370
819331
87870
Cochin
5
Thrissur, Alappuzha, Cochin,
Cochin (Rural) Kottayam.
Kozhikode
4
Kozhikode I, Kozhikode II, Kannur,
Payyanoor
Malappuram
1
Malappuram
14.    
Madhya Pradesh
Bhopal
1
Bhopal
89126
99382
109243
6191
15.    
Maharashtra
Mumbai
3
Mumbai-I
Mumbai-II
Mumbai III
656411
753146
646285
66304
Thane
2
Thane,
 Nasik
Pune
1
Pune
Nagpur
1
Nagpur
16.    
Orissa
Bhubneswar
1
Bhubneswar
44417
52481
73164
3528
17.    
Punjab
Jalandhar
3
Jalandhar-1
Jalandhar-2
Hoshiarpur
209697
196706
214594
22127
Amritsar
1
Amritsar
18.    
Rajasthan
Jaipur
3
Jaipur, Jodhpur, Sikar
174934
199720
196703
15298
19.    
Tamil Nadu
Chennai
3
Chennai-1
Chennai-2
Chennai-3
544044
571661
687550
66225
Trichy
2
Trichy, Thanjavur
Madurai
2
Madurai,
Tirunelveli City
Coimbatore
1
Coimbatore
20.    
Uttar Pradesh
Lucknow
4
Lucknow, Kanpur, Gorakhpur, Varanasi
500761
556424
492797
42715
Ghaziabad
1
Ghaziabad
Bareilly
1
Bareilly
21.    
Uttaranchal
Dehradun
1
Dehradun
44655
54840
51148
1469
22.    
West Bengal, Tripura & Sikkim
Kolkata
2
Kolkata, Berhampore
253456
256476
233380
15838
23.    
Andaman & Nicobar Island
2892
2507
24.    
CPV Division
30907
24311
Total
37+2
77
5251444
5869375
5942526
556877
# The above figures do not include miscellaneous services
including Police Clearance Certificate (PCC) rendered by the Passport Offices
which were 6,76,224 in 2010, 4,68,882 in 2011 and 3,14,435 in 2012.
## The above figures also do not include the passport and
miscellaneous services rendered by the Indian Missions/Posts abroad, which were
10,2,7000 in 2011 and 11,35,104 in 2012.

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COMMENTS

WORDPRESS: 2
  • J Mittal 8 years ago

    Sir, I want to amend my present address to my new permanent address. I will appriciate if you guide me so I can apply online.
    Thanks & Rgds
    Jai Pal Mittal

  • sir, can the pending passport be transferred from one center to another for conveniance of the applicant, as the new center will be narer to the applicant as the applicant changed his residence to another town due to transfer?