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News - Archive
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Immediate action on all issues in Passport adalat
Publication: The Times of India, The Telegraph, Dainik Jagran, Rashtriya Sahara (Patna) |
Date: 28.12.2013 |
Summary:
A passport adalat was held at the regional passport office at Maurya Lok on Friday. Around 74 applicants, who attended it, had submitted their passport applications by October 31 but have not yet received the document.
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Haj pilgrims should be ready with Passports for Haj-2014
Summary:
Prof. S.A. Shukoor, Special Officer, A.P. State Haj Committee has appealed to the prospective Haj pilgrims for 2014 Haj season to get their passport ready for filing their applications. It is expected Central Haj Committee will released Haj applications forms and notification for accepting them will release in the last week of January. If the passport of any pilgrim is getting expired, he should get it renewed. He also appealed to the voluntary agencies to persuade the people to get Passports ready. For further details please contact the Office of the Haj Committee at phone No. 040-23298793.
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Police verification for passports to go online
Summary:
The time-consuming police verification process is all set to go online from January 1, 2014, and is expected to cut down the delivery time for passports by at least 10 days.
With the procedure for verifications being fully digitized, police stations will receive applications online and send their reports to the police headquarters again online, saving much time that is spent in the current system for physical transfer of files to and from the police headquarters.
Trials of the new system are currently on at all 33 police stations the city and the project is expected to become fully operational from January 1. Once implemented, applications for police verification that the Regional Passport Office sends to the police headquarter will be forwarded online to the police stations concerned by the deputy commissioner of police (DCP). Officers responsible for carrying out the on-ground verification will then take a print of the application, visit the address mentioned in it to confirm particulars and send their report back to the DCP office online. Officials at the DCP office will then run one final check on the credentials of the applicant to rule out any criminal record before sending their final report back to the RPO to print the passport.
In the existing system, all the 500-odd city-centric applications received by the police headquarters daily are printed together at the DCP office, sorted on the basis of police stations and then manually delivered to them. Reports from the police stations are also currently received by the head office manually and then updated on the online system. The entire procedure, excluding the time required for the actual on-ground police verification, currently takes not less than 8-10 days, a process that would be a thing of the past.
Police officers have been trained in using the new software, which they can operate with a username and password. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has mandated a maximum time of 21 days for police-verification related procedures, but officials estimate that with the successful implementation of the new project the actual time will reduce by at least 10-14 days.
Rajendra Mane, deputy commissioner of police, in-charge of passport-related police verifications, said they are fully equipped to handle the new system. "All police stations have already been provided with the infrastructure required and have been trained to handle the new programme which will help to save crucial time lost in the printing, manual sorting and delivery of the applications to and from respective police stations," he said.
Rashema Arora, assistant Regional Passport Officer of Pune said the new system would cut short the total time required for issuance of passports. "Delays on account of physical transfer of documents will be reduced which will ensure that we receive the final police verification reports sooner. This benefit will be directly passed on to the applicant, as we will be able to send the passport for printing earlier," she said.
It is another step towards greater transparency and efficiency in the issuance of passports, believes Muktesh K Pardeshi, joint secretary and chief passport officer in the Ministry of External Affairs. "There were a lot of grey areas in the old system wherein files frequently got lost and processes were easily delayed with no clear authority and responsibility fixed. Under the new system, every police action and inaction can be accounted for as everything is recorded on the system," he told TOI from Delhi.
While the new system has been across the country, Maharashtra was lagging behind in its implementation, Pardeshi informed, adding that it required all-round support and infrastructure for a successful run and was the need of the hour, considering the increase in number of passport applications.
500 police-verification applications are received at the police headquarters daily.
New software installed at all 34 police stations, will help cut down manual delivery (to and fro) time by almost 10 days.
While there are 34 police stations in the city, maximum load of applications is at Chatushrungi, Kothrud, Kondhwa and Dattawadi police stations.
Trial runs of the software have been going on at all police stations since December 15 wherein officers have also been trained in its use. Usernames and passwords have been issued to all of them on Thursday.
Passport Seva of MEA has mandated a maximum time of 21 days for police-verification related procedures.
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Machine-readable passports
Summary:
Indian citizens residing in India and abroad, who possess handwritten passports as well as 20-year validity passports with validity beyond November 24, 2015, have been asked to apply for reissuing of passports and obtain machine-readable passports (MRPs). The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) has set November 24, 2015 as the deadline for globally phasing out all non-MRPs. All handwritten passports with photos which were issued earlier by the Government of India will be considered for non-MRP passports. All 20-year validity passports will also fall in this category.
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Youth inclined more towards passport
Publication: Amar Ujala (Kanpur) |
Date: 15.12.2013 |
Summary:
Minister of External Affairs inaugurated the two days camp
External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid inaugurated the two days passport camp on Saturday at Vikas Bhavan. He handed the passport Receipt to Fatehgarh resident Archit Aggarwal. A unique motivation could be easily seen among youth for getting their passports. The applications from Hardoi, Kannauj, Auraiya, Etawah and Farrukhabad districts were accepted.
The External Affairs minister said that they have already started the services of making passport online which would be made better in future. According to the Chief Passport officer M.K Pardeshi this is the first attempt to set camps at districts level. Rajiv Kumar told that around 85 applications came on Friday and 62 on Saturday for passport. The other official of the Passport Seva were also present during the camp.
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Punjab police fast-tracks passport verification
Summary:
In a bid to enhance revenue being generated by police verification reports, mandatory for issuing passports, Punjab police top brass have issued instructions to all districts to ensure that the reports are issued within 15 days so that the department get Rs 200 for every report from the ministry of external affairs.
Punjab ADGP (law and order) Dinkar Gupta in a communique to all SSPs and commissioners have instructed to ensure that the verification reports should be sent within 15 days after receiving intimation from the regional passport office so that Punjab police could earn Rs 200 for every report it generates, instead of the Rs 100 it gets for a 20-day deadline.
He also asked the district-level officers that responsibility should be fixed in case of delay and appropriate action be taken. The ADGP has also asked the SSPs and CPs to send him monthly action taken reports in this regard with a copy to ADGP, intelligence, also.
The revenue generated though this scheme would go to Punjab Police Housing Corporation. Around Rs 80 lakh was paid to the corporation last year and Rs 89 lakh was given by the MEA for the first nine months of this year. With monitoring of time taken for PVRs starting at top level, the applicants are also getting the benefit of getting passports without delay.
Regional passport officer Harmanbir Singh Gill said while earlier most of the reports were being sent in 20 days, now several reports were being sent back to the passport office in less than 15 days. "The highest percentage of reports reaching in minimum time is from Nawanshahr," he said.
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Get passport fast!
Publication: Lokmat (Mumbai) |
Date: 08.12.2013 |
Summary:
Passport is an important document for people going abroad. Earlier people had to make several visits of passport office but now the government has improved the services with the help of online process through which people can get passport in short time. Lokmat team visited the Passport Seva Kendra recently to know about the working of Passport Seva Kendra. Post-independence close to 30000 to 50000 passports were issued in one year by the government but today in 30000 to 50000 passports are issued across India in a single day.
Now the new system is running very fast. Applicants have to use the online facility for making a passport application whether the applicant is IT savvy or not. Passport Seva Kendra has nine parts - Applicant entry point, enquiry, token granting, annexure sale, waiting room, TCS zone, verification, granting zones and exit point. The passport is delivered within 1 to 1.5 months after making a application.
Mr. Muktesh Kumar Pardeshi, Chief Passport Officer, said "We ensure that all applicants are provided excellent passport services. India has 77 PSKs and all the interconnected through the online system. We are further improving the system to enhance the entire experience."
TCS has been given the contract to manage Passport Seva Project.
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Process of police verification for passport in Odisha to go on line
Summary:
Considering the growing demand for issue of passport and passport related services in Odisha in recent years, Chief Secretary Jugal Kishore Mohapatra has directed to put the police verification process on line which has hitherto been mostly manual at district and thana level.
Sri Mohapatra has also advised Principal Secretary Home Sri Vipin Kumar Saxena to provide necessary hard ware and broad band connectivity to all District Police Head Quarters (DPHQ). Chief Secretary has given these directions while reviewing the present processes involved in the issue of pass port in a high level meeting held in secretariat conference hall today.
Discussions in the meeting reveal that Pass Port Seva Project has been started in Odisha for expeditious issue of pass ports. At present the applications are being received online. System has been activated to pass the application on line to the concerned police head quarter for antecedent verification. Generally, four verifications like identity, citizenship, criminal antecedent and correctness of address etc are verified by the police. It has been decided that the police verification process will be put on line as far as practicable to make the process more convenient, simple, secure and transparent.
Sources say, at present the regional pass port office of Bhubaneswar has to issue around 78,000 pass ports annually which is likely to increase in coming years. It has been decided that Director General of Police will be authorized to procure the hardware and other necessary materials for which separate financial grants will be provided to police. It has also been decided to engage 50 data entry operators at different police head quarters to assist in the process of quicker online disposal. Nodal Officer will also be designated in the Vigilance wing to look in to the cases referred to them for quick disposal. Available data shows in September, 2013 around 6672 applications from different districts were initiated for verification. Similarly, in October 5606 and in November, 6210 number of applications have been initiated for verification.
With functioning of new system, passport form would directly get delivered to the concerned police district thereby minimizing delay. After physical Verification at the residence, data entry, verification of entered data and approval can be accorded at the DPHQ itself which will reduce the chances of error. The system will provide for online tracking of PVR status by applicants, police and pass port office staffs. The facility for SMS/portal based status update to applicants at different stages will also be available. It has been decided that a common help desk with Telephone Number 0120-6143838/3878 along with email id psp.policesupport@tcs.com will be provided as a single point support solution measure. It is expected that it will reduce the burden of frequent enquiries by the applicants at police stations and number of grievances lodged in pass port office.
Principal Secretary Home Sri Vipion Kumar Saxena, Director General of Police Sri Prakash Mishra, Regional Passport Officer, and DIG Intelligence along with other senior officers from concerned departments participated in discussions.
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41-year-old India-Bangladesh passport regime ends
Summary:
The 41-year-old India-Bangladesh passport regime in the Northeast and in West Bengal came to an end on Sunday following an instruction by the ministry of external affairs (MEA) to the concerned state governments.
Those who have been already a passport under the old system will be able to use it until the expiration date. This special passport, which allowed travel to Bangladesh with a locally issued visa, was introduced after the independence of Bangladesh in 1971 for the easy movement of people between the two countries.
The passport was issued by the northeastern state governments with the consent of the regional passport offices in Kolkata, and the people of West Bengal and the Northeast could apply for it. The passport was availed mainly by businessmen and individuals who had family members and relatives in Bangladesh.
Thousands of people living in the northeastern states were born in Bangladesh and subsequently migrated to India in four phases during the division of Bengal in 1905, the shifting of the capital of the British empire in India from Calcutta to Delhi in 1911, India's Independence in 1947 and, finally, during the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971. These Bengali-speaking people of the northeastern states used the India-Bangladesh passport to visit Bangladesh frequently since most of them have relatives there.
"Availing an Indo-Bangla passport was very simple because it was issued at the local level through a diplomatic channel within 15 days of filing application," said Tripura chief secretary S K Panda.
The MEA's decision to end the India-Bangladesh passport regime has drawn sharp criticism from state industries and commerce minister Jitendra Choudhury. He said this would create hindrance in the movement of people and businessmen between two countries, which will ultimately affect bilateral relations.
He said the Tripura government opposed the MEA's move, but the ministry decided to discontinue with this passport regime from December 1 on security grounds. The Tripura government has taken up the matter with the MEA to continue issuing the passport until the proposed Mini Passport Service Centre is set up in Agartala.
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Bangalore: Passport Mela helps 2,500
Summary:
To expedite the application process in view of the high demand for passports, a Passport Mela was organized on Saturday from 9.30 am to 4.30 pm at the Passport Seva Kendra (PSK) at Lalbagh Road and Marathahalli.
About 2,500 appointments were made available to passport seekers, who visited the PSK to get their applications processed.
The appointment slots to register for the Passport Mela were made available from November 25, and 2,492 appointments were booked by the citizens.
Applicants under normal category were allowed to apply in the mela while the Tatkal based on verification certificates/Annexure F and Walk-in applicants were not allowed.
Since all the applicants had come after taking appointments, they can easily keep a track of their passport by checking the status online using their ARN by logging on to www.passportindia.gov.in.
The Regional Passport Office, Bangalore will be organizing another Passport Mela on December 14 and online appointments for the same will be released on December 9. Online appointments for the same will be released on the same day.
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Make passport at the right time for Haj
Publication: Aaj (Bareilly) |
Date: 28.11.2013 |
Summary:
Haj Committee appealed to Haj pilgrims and advised to make the passport at theright time for Haj . Haj Committee Bareilly spokesperson ,Pumpi Khan Warsi said in the meeting that I appeal
to all Haj pilgrims 2014 to make their passports before filling the Hajapplication form.
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Incorrect residence info delays passports
Publication: The Times of India (Pune) |
Date: 25.11.2013 |
Summary:
Applicants must list all the addresses they have resided at in the last 12 months when they apply for a passport to avoid delays in getting the document. Analysis of data available at the Regional Passport Office on Senapati Bapat road has revealed that it deals with nearly 700 cases every month, or an average of more than 30 every day, wherein applicants have missed listing out this information correctly in their application. Officials term it "suppression and selective omission of information", intentionally or otherwise, and say it has emerged as the key reason for the delay in issuance of passports and even rejection of applications received by the RPO. Assistant regional passport officer Rashema Arora highlighted the commonly-seen trends of omission. "It is when the police verification report is generated that we come to know that the applicant has suppressed information, commonly about their place of residence. As clearly mentioned in the form too, all applicants must clearly and completely give details of all places that they may have resided at in the last twelve months, even if it was for a fortnight. In most cases, applicants only give details of their permanent address, omitting details of their current place of residence. Such applicants have to then be summoned to the RPO for a clarification, and if suppression is proved, they are liable to pay a penalty of Rs 5,000 to the RPO," she said.
Arora also highlighted the trouble that such suppression, omission and misrepresentation of information causes to not just the applicants, but also the RPO and the police, which has to verify the furnished data. "The passport is a sensitive document and so we have to call or write to all these applicants to come to the RPO and explain the misrepresentation on their part. Many times, applicants end up making multiple visits to not only complete the form, but also furnish necessary documents. On completion of all formalities, the police verification has to be initiated afresh. It results in not just nearly doubling the total time required for the issuance of the passport, but also the effort put in by the applicant, RPO and the police," Arora said.
The police said they such cases are mostly seen among outstation students and professionals, who frequently travel, or those living in rented accommodations. "For every such passport application, we wait for about 15 days for the applicant to come to the police station with the required document. We call on the phone numbers given in the application and if they are believed to be residing on the address given, leave a message with neighbours too," said Kalyanrao Vidhate, senior police inspector of Kothrud police station.
According to Rajendra Mane, deputy commissioner of police in-charge of the police verification for passports, furnishing complete data is in the interest of the applicant. "Some applicants do try to omit details of their temporary addresses, but this only ends up complicating their applications. The police verify everything, and even part-time accommodation in a hostel can be verified by us. Suppression invites heavy fines, so no detail should be omitted while filling the passport form," he said.
Assistant RPO Rashema Arora said there is a provision, especially for students, to get the residential details in their passports updated later.
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Passport office to expedite police verification
Publication: The Pioneer (Kanpur) |
Date: 20.11.2013 |
Summary:
Joint Secretary, PSP, and Chief Passport Officer, Ministry of External Affairs, Muktesh Kumar Pardeshi held a meeting with the passport officers of Lucknow, Bareilly, Ghaziabad and senior officers from TCS to discuss the progress of passport services.
He also visited the Passport Seva Kendra of Lucknow to review the operations and assess the improvements made so far. While addressing media persons, he said that he was in talks with Home Secretary Anil Kumar Gupta to expedite the rollout of district police verification process to cope up with several complaints and inordinate delay in police verification of applicants across Uttar Pradesh.
The online model of police verification is about 60 days in Lucknow as compared to the national average of 45 days. Only about five per cent verifications are completed by police within the timeline of 21 days. He also announced the launch of Passport Seva Premium SMS to make the passport information tracking smooth. "With the SMS service, applicants will receive alert updates for application as well as reminders. The SMS service is also available at a nominal cost of 30," he said. He added that the launch of online payments services, including the challan payments, had brought relief to applicants across the country. "The regional passport offices in UP organised passport mela in all Passport Seva Kendras in Lucknow, Gorakhpur, Varanasi, Bareilly, Kanpur and Ghaziabad. As many as 3,000 appointments were released and over 2,200 applications were processed. More popular melas will be organised in future," he said. He said that the 'passport seva project' had evolved with time and with the current technology to incorporate necessary changes in the system, the MEA planned to make the application process faster.
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Passport Fee will be given back to those who apply at wrong office
Publication: Desabhimani (Malappuram, Kozhikode) |
Date: 19.11.2013 |
Summary:
If somebody pays his application fee for passport at the wrong office, his money will be
refunded to him. After the implementation of e-payment many have complained that they lost
money. It was after this, Ministry of External Affairs looked into the issue and gave an order to
the passport offices. A separate application must be filled for this service. After proper checking the amount will be refunded as money or DD. Earlier the fee could be transferred from one office to other.
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mPassport Seva app now available for iOS and Windows Phone users
Publication: Telugu now (Pune) |
Date: 10.11.2013 |
Summary:
Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) launches the mPassport Seva app for Windows and Apple iOS users.
The Ministry of External Affairs launched the mPassport Seva app on Android platform in March and now has extended the app to Windows and Apple iOS platforms. The mPassport Seva app provides passport-related information and helps in tracking passport application status.
The mPassport Seva app is being developed in a Public-Private-Partnership mode with IT services major Tata Consultancy Services (TCS). TCS said in a press release, "The app gives users information about the nearest Passport Seva Kendra (PSK) or District Passport Cell (DPC) in a district where they can submit the passport application. Users can also search the nearest PSK based on PIN code. In certain states and districts, the users can even search for police stations through the app."
The app has a fee calculator feature that enables users to find out the applicable fee based on the service and mode of submission. Users can also track the status of their passport applications by providing the file number and date of birth. The app also updates the delivery status once dispatched.
MEA is also working on an upgraded version of the mPassport Seva app which will allow users to apply for passports as well as pay the passport application fee via their smartphones. The app will let users apply for passports via their smartphone and even make passport application fees online via their credit or debit cards. The applicant can collect their allotted 'application reference number' through the nearest PSK.
According to a statement the MEA has issued more than 85 lakh passports this year as compared to 74 lakh passports issued last year.
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Now, track status of passport applications via SMS
Summary:
The ministry of external affairs has introduced a new and optional value-added SMS assistance to keep passport applicants and people availing other services at the Passport Seva Kendra (PSK) in the city updated on the status of their applications.
As part of this service, from the time applicants submit their applications until the service is rendered, they will receive the status of their applications and alerts for pending actions through SMSs on their cellphones, a statement issued by the ministry said.
Applicants may receive up to nine SMSs as alerts and updates during the process.
Also, applicants can send their queries via SMSs at any time to get the current status of their applications, wherein the information provided will be based on the information available in the Passport Seva Project system.
Applicants who choose not to enrol for the SMS assistance will continue to receive the standard communications from the PSK like a text informing about the dispatch of the passports, the statement said.
Those interested, can enrol for the service by paying a one-time enrolment charge of Rs 30, payable in cash at the Passport Seva Kendra. To enrol, applicants can select the 'SMS Services' option while submitting their applications and pay the fee. The facility is also available when submitting or uploading the forms online, where applicants can select the link 'Enrol for SMS Services' available under 'Services' section on the site.
According to the statement issued, this new SMS service is being offered by Tata Consultancy Services Limited, the service provider for Passport Seva Project as per its contract with the ministry, in association with Unicel Technologies Private Limited.
Besides Pune, the service will be available in all PSKs in other cities including Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, Delhi, Amritsar, Bangalore, Madurai, Trichy, Coimbatore, Mumbai, Thane, Nagpur, Jaipur, Shimla, Jammu and Srinagar. The service follows its successful test-run in PSKs of Regional Passport Offices of Chennai, Jalandhar and Chandigarh.
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Regional Passport Office guidelines for correction in passports
Summary:
In view of the AP high court order for carrying out correction of entries in the existing passports, the Regional Passport Office (RPO), Hyderabad has issued guidelines to be followed by applicants.
"The high court, while disposing a writ petition basing on counter affidavit filed by RPO, Hyderabad office, in respect of correction of entries in passports, has directed this office to give the procedure prescribed for making applications for correction of entries in the passports to reduce the avoidable litigation in courts," an official release issued by the RPO, Hyderabad said.
According to the procedure for correction of entries in existing passports, the applicants have to fill online passport application with required corrections by logging on to its website.
For this, the applicant has to create a user ID and password and submit or download e-form and fill it. Later, the applicant has to login again and upload the form and note down a 10-digit 'application registration number' (ARN). The applicant would get schedule along with appointment. Accordingly, she/he has to visit the 'Passport seva kendra' (PSK) as per appointment date and time with all relevant documents in original and Photostat copies.
The PSK staff would process the application as per rules. In case of deficiency, applications would be kept 'on hold' at PSK with an advice to submit the required documents at the earliest. To know the status of the application, the applicant has to call on toll free No1800 258 1800.
"Whenever civil court orders are required, the RPO will issue a letter in speaking order format to the applicant. For correction of entries in passport, the RPO does not require the High Court of Andhra Pradesh orders. This office requires only First Class Judicial Magistrate declaratory orders in those specific cases, where the speaking orders were passed by this office after due examination of the cases," the RPO added.
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Passport verification: Cops send text alerts
Summary:
People won't have to make rounds of a police station for verification of their passport application.
The Thane rural police are sending text messages to passport applicants informing them about when they need to visit the police station for the verification procedure. This is the first time such a system has been launched in the state. "The system has become operational since the last eight days. The software automatically sends the SMS alert to the applicant informing the status of his passport application till it reaches the passport office," said a cop.
The Thane rural police have launched its first passport information SMS alert system. Once the applicant successfully files his application for the passport online, the police will send him/her SMS alert of when he needs to visit the local police station for verification of the passport. The SMS alert will be send two days prior to the date of visit to the police station.
After the successful verification and examination of documents by the local police station, the passport verification report will be send to the passport cell of the police. This information will also be send to the applicant via SMS.
"The SMS alert system has become operational since the past eight days and it has been a success. The software automatically sends the SMS alert to the applicant informing the status of his passport application till it reaches the passport office, ?said Thane rural superintendent of police Anil Kumbhare.
Around 30,000 passport applications are verified in the Thane rural police jurisdiction every year. Over 80 per cent of the applicants are from urban areas of Mira-Bhayander and Vasai-Virar.
The SMS alert also gives the applicant the option of emailing (sp.thane.r@mahapolice.gov.in) any complaints faced during the passport verification process. This is ensuring that the verification is done sans any malpractice, said Kumbhare.
Information
Even policemen in Thane rural will now receive an SMS break-up of the monthly salary details. So far, they received an SMS from the bank regarding crediting of total salary. The break-up will help them know about the deductions.
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No police clearance for tourist visas from October 15
Publication: The Times of India (Hyderabad) |
Date: 10.10.2013 |
Summary:
Come October 15, police clearance certificates (PCCs) will not be issued to Indians proceeding abroad on tourist visa. The decision by the ministry of external affairs was made in order to stop gullible people from falling prey to the designs of agents.
"In view of instances like agents cheating workers and emigration authorities detaining thousands of people for overstaying in foreign countries after the expiry of tourist visa, the MEA has decided to implement a few rules and regulations in issuance of PCCs," regional passport officer (RPO), K Srikar Reddy, said while briefing the media at the Begumpet passport seva kendra (PSK) on Wednesday.
The MEA has identified 17 emigration clearance required (ECR) countries, including the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, Malaysia, Libya, Jordan, Yemen, Sudan, Afghanistan, Indonesia, Syria, Lebanon, Thailand and Iraq. The MEA has also prescribed a few documents to be produced by skilled/semi-skilled, unskilled, and women workers for issuance of PCCs, he said.
For skilled/semi-skilled workers, the applicant has to produce an employment contract from a foreign employer and insurance policy under the Pravasi Bharatiya Bima Yojana (PBBY) in order to get a PCC. For unskilled/women workers, the applicant has to produce documents like employment contract duly attested by the Indian mission or a permission letter from the concerned embassy of India or Consulate General of India, and insurance policy under PBBY, Srikar Reddy said. "The new decision would be implemented countrywide, but the MEA has particularly asked us to implement it strictly in Andhra Pradesh as a large number of people go abroad seeking jobs," he added.
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Need for improvement in passport verification system: Mesquita
Publication: The Navhind Times |
Date: 29.09.2013 |
Summary:
Commissioner for NRI Affairs Dr Wilfred Mesquita said that the time taken in getting police verification reports is the cause for delay in processing of passport applications and therefore the system needs improvement. Dr Mesquita was speaking during the two-day meeting of Committee on Review of Police Verification System for Passport, organised by the Ministry of External Affairs, passports division on its concluding day in Panaji on Saturday. Muktesh Pardeshi, IFS, chief passport officer and joint secretary (PSP), Ministry of External Affairs, A K Sobti, IFS, director (PSP), MEA, DPOs and RPOs from the country attended the seminar.
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Passport: online payment must for more categories
Summary:
Online payment and scheduling of appointment for passport applicants, falling under the Visakhapatnam Regional Passport Office, has been made mandatory for the following categories. They are: Tatkal passport applications, Police Clearance Certificate (PCC), inclusion and deletion of spouse name, deletion of ECR, additional booklet, government employees, their spouse and children, minors, who are above 6 years, prior to submission of application at Visakhapatnam Passport Seva Kendra (PSK). Three categories - senior citizens (above 60 years), minors below 6 years, whose parents hold valid passports and Physically challenged persons will be allowed to walk-in without prior appointment between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. from Monday to Friday (except holidays) with effect from October 3. Applicants under these three categories would, however, have to register online, fill in the online application form and generate Application Reference Number (ARN) at least one day in advance before visiting the PSK. There are no other changes in the procedure of filling up the online application form and processing of application at the PSK. Further information can be had from the Ministry of External Affairs website:www.passportindia.gov.in or from the Regional Passport Office. The number of online slots has been increased from 350 to 450 recently. Some of the categories like Tatkal have been now brought under the online category. This is done to prevent overcrowding at the PSK by streamlining the flow, according to Passport Officer A.T. Murthy. The number of online slots has been increased from 350 to 450. Some of the categories like Tatkal have now been brought under the online category, says Passport Officer.
News is not available for this month.
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Passport Authority can't say no to change name of adopted child
Publication: Hindustan Times (Mumbai) |
Date: 09.07.2013 |
Summary:
A division bench of Justice VM Kanade and Justice KR Shriram allowed the plea of Alpana Harshan, who wants a change in her son's surname in his passport. The Passport Authority cannot sit in appeal and raise objections on a Child Adoption Deed registered with the appropriate authority while deciding on change of name in the passport of an adopted child. The Bombay high court said this on Monday, asking it to consider the plea. A division bench of Justice VM Kanade and Justice KR Shriram allowed the plea of Alpana Harshan, who wants a change in her son's surname in his passport. In 2004, the Yari Road resident's first marriage was dissolved and the child's permanent custody was given to her by the family court. The boy is her son from her first marriage. In 2010, she married again. In October, her son was officially adopted by her second husband. The son's surname was changed in the school records through an official gazette. They also got an Aadhaar card issued in his new surname. On February 7, the woman applied to the Passport Authority for making the necessary changes in her son's passport. The authority called her to the office, seeking clarification on whether the biological father's consent was given before the child was adopted. It was also argued that under section 9 (2) of the Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act, a father alone can give a child in adoption with the mother's consent. Thus, the authority refused her request. She challenged this in the Bombay high court. Harshan argued that ever since their divorce, she doesn't know her husband's whereabouts. Though he has visiting rights, he has not come to see the child. Thus, such a demand cannot be made. The court accepted the argument and noted that in the circumstances when the husband is not available and the surname in other documents have already been changed, the authority cannot raise such objections now. The court has directed the authorities to consider the change in circumstances and heed to the woman's plea. "
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Police verification online in 3 more districts to facilitate faster delivery of passports
Publication: The Times of India (Pune) |
Date: 05.07.2013 |
Summary:
The police verification process in four of the six districts that come under the purview of the Pune-based Regional Passport Office (RPO) has gone online, paving the way for faster delivery of passports to applicants from these places. Police verification reports of applications from Pune rural, Satara, Sangli are now being generated online, a process that consumed much time earlier as files were transferred physically between the RPO and concerned police stations in these districts. The first stage of the process has also been rolled out for Kolhapur from July 2, while that for Ahmednagar and Solapur (city and rural) are in the pipeline, Rashema Arora, assistant regional passport officer told TOI. 'Under the new system, as soon as the passport office accepts an application into its system, a police verification form is generated which can be accessed by the police team in the district concerned (Pune Rural, Satara and Sangli). They take a print-out and begin their on-ground verification. On completion, the result can be updated online, on the basis of which the passport gets printed here in Pune. As the process is in its initial stage in Kolhapur, the reports are currently manually transported to our office, but hopefully that too will be taken care of soon," Arora said. The online system has been introduced following the digitization of the police verification system for Pune city which came into effect in February-end. According to Arora, the upgraded police verification system has helped speed up the passport issuance in the districts concerned, and passports have been delivered on time. "The process is in the pipeline for Ahmednagar and Solapur too, which will improve the performance here as well,' she said.
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Pathankot, Gurdaspur attached with Jalandhar passport office
Summary:
Passport applications from residents of Pathankot and Gurdaspur will be accepted at the Jalandhar passport office beginning July 8 (Monday), and not at the Amritsar facility. The ministry of external affairs (MEA) has said that the decision was taken in view of difficulties faced in the allotment of appointments at the Amritsar office. "The Jalandhar office has given its nod to serve these two new districts with the existing staff. We will handle these districts at our Hoshiarpur Passport Seva Kendra at Galaxy Towers near Parbhat Chowk and will ensure that people do not have to unnecessarily visit our office," Jalandhar passport officer Harmanbir Singh Gill said. Gill added that applicants, who had been given appointments by the Amritsar office, would be dealt with at Amritsar only. "It will be our priority to issue passports in 21 days after completion of formalities. The police and other officials have been informed," he said.
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MEA draws up procedure manual for passport officers
Publication: The Times of India (Pune) |
Date: 04.07.2013 |
Summary:
The next time an applicant visits a passport seva kendra, the granting officer may refer to an elaborate manual before processing the application. The passport division of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has drawn up an exhaustive manual of procedures to be followed for issuing passports to standardize the response of regional passport officers and granting officers. Anil Kumar Sobti, director of the passport division of the MEA told TOI that the draft of the manual has been sent to all regional passport officers (RPO) to seek their views on the best-possible treatment of 80 probable situations that may arise during the issuance of passports, including accepting documents and handling different categories of applicants. Currently, there is variation in the manner in which passport applications are dealt with in the passport seva kendras. In many cases, acceptability of documents furnished by the applicant is decided on the basis of which part of the country the application is filed or even the "perception" of the granting officers."Perception of a situation always differs between two individuals. This can neither be ruled out, nor easily dealt with. With the help of feedback from all the RPOs, we endeavour to eliminate regional variations and standardize the response to possible situations, so that officers in different parts of the country will deal with the same documents in a uniform manner," Sobti said, adding that all RPOs are expected to send their feedback in two to four weeks. Sobti admitted that tricky situations arise during the scrutiny of documents submitted by the applicants. "There are times when granting officers ask applicants to produce additional documents. This happens when he/she is not satisfied with what has been submitted. We have picked 80 such situations and evaluated possible ways of dealing with them, based on which a nationalised response manual is being worked out. The idea is to provide more user-friendly service by adopting the best practices uniformly across the country," he said. Sobti also did not rule out the option of adopting region-specific procedures. "If regionalisation is useful, then it will be accommodated when required or standardised," he said.
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Adopt citizen-centric role, Khurshid urges passport officers on Passport Seva Divas
Summary:
External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid on Monday urged passport officers to adopt a citizen-centric role and for measures that facilitate speedier and courteous service. Inaugurating a two day Passport Officer's Conference at the Jawahar Lal Nehru Bhavan, Khurshid declared June 24 as "Passport Seva Divas", as the Passport Act 1967 was enacted on this day. Thirty-seven passport officers and the representative of the Andaman and Nicobar administration are participating in the conference, said a statement. The minister launched the Online Passport Fees Payment facility at 18 more Passport Seva Kendras (PSKs) in the country. The minister also launched the Online Passport Fees Payment facility at 18 more Passport Seva Kendras (PSKs) in the country. The facility is already available at 25 locations. By July 3, the online facility will be available in the rest of 15 PSKs as well. A mobile-based Passport Seva was also launched to offer a wide variety of services to smartphone users, such as passport application status tracking, locating the PSKs and general information on various steps involved in obtaining passport services. The service would soon be available to other mobile phone users also. Khurshid unveiled a plaque symbolising the inauguration of the new Passport Bhavan in Surat as another step forward in improving physical infrastructure of CPO. The minister lauded the efforts of Central Passport Organisation employees for striving to improve governance in the country in tandem with Tata Consultancy Services, the service provider through Passport Seva, a transformational initiative of the government under National e-Governance Plan. He also gave away Passport Seva Puraskars to the CPO employees and passport officers."
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Passport Seva Project completes processing 1 crore applications
Publication: The Hindu (Bangalore) |
Date: 23.06.2013 |
Summary:
Adnan Raja, a six-year-old boy from Kolkata became the lucky passport applicant whose form was processed as 1,00,00,000th or 1 crore application at the Passport Seva System. Passport Seva Project (PSP), the mission mode program of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), which runs in Public-Private-Partnership mode with Tata Consultancy Services as a service provider completed its first year of successful rollout last week. The project which was launched with an objective to deliver passport services to citizens of India in a timely, transparent, more accessible and reliable manner, has achieved a landmark figure of processing more than 1 crore passport applications since its inception in 2010. Muktesh Pardeshi, joint secretary, Passport Seva Project and chief passport officer said, "Processing more than a crore applications for passports and related services is a noteworthy milestone. Our officials have been working relentlessly to provide hassle-free passport services to citizens. We have also taken assertive steps to streamline and simplify the process for passport applicants."
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E-payment at Passport Seva Centre
Publication: Business Standard (New Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai Bangalore) |
Date: 20.06.2013 |
Summary:
To reduce non-availability of appointments and to check "no-shows" of applicants at Passport Seva Kendras, the government has made prior online payments compulsory for booking appointments at more centres, including in the NCR, with effect from June 21. Reviewing the operations over the last one year, it was observed that a large number of applicants were not turning up at the PSKs despite taking appointment. "This was not only resulting in lesser utilisation of processing capacity of the PSK but was also causing denial of appointments for other genuine applicants," an official statement said. To resolve the issue of non-availability of appointments and to reduce no-shows of applicants, the External Affairs Ministry has launched online payment system for booking appointments, the statement added. With the launch of online payment-based appointments, applicants will be required to make payment at the time of booking appointment on the MEA website. Online fees can be paid through credit, debit card and internet banking. The fees for normal application is 1,500 and for tatkal its INR 3000.
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Bangalore passport fair processes 855 applications
Publication: The Hindu Business Line, Talk magazine (Bangalore) |
Date: 11.06.2013 |
Summary:
A day-long passport fair was held here Saturday to speed up processing of applications by the regional passport office. "A record 855 applications were processed and 1,290 applicants were given appointments for issuing passports at the two centres (seva kendras) in the central and eastern suburbs of the city," the regional passport office said in a statement here. The city passport office handles about 1,600 applications daily, which is five times more than three years ago. The twin centres are operated by technology partner and IT bellwether Tata Consulting Services (TCS). "Though it was an official holiday, the citizen response was overwhelming to the fair, organised at a short notice to dispose off as many applications and appointments as feasible," an official said. Applicants can track their application status online with the ARN (application registration number) given to them at the fair at www.passportindia.gov.in.
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Ghost image in Passport will protect it from forgery
Publication: Dainik Jagran (Lucknow, Bareilly), Dainik Bhaskar (Chandigarh) |
Date: 07.06.2013 |
Summary:
The new passport will have all the details of the passport holder within a system generated image, which cannot be tampered with. A special kind of scanner available at the airports will be used to read the details in this image. New, changed and updated passports will also carry this image; however old passports will also remain valid.
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Biometric passport would take time to become reality in India: Chief Passport Officer
Summary:
The biometric passports would take some more time to become a reality in India and no time frame can be given for this, Chief Passport Officer Muktesh K Pardesi said here today. "The ministry has invited international bids for chips. The Home Ministry also has a role to play to check the credentials of the companies as security is involved in it. Once it is done, the India Security Press would be able to finalise the design," Pardesi, a joint secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs, said. A biometric passport is a combined paper and electronic passport containing biometric information that can be used to authenticate the identity of travellers. It uses contactless smart card technology, including a microprocessor chip and antenna embedded in the front, back or centre page of the passport. The passport's critical information is both printed on the data page of the passport and stored in the chip. The currently standardised biometrics used for this type of identification system are facial, fingerprint and iris recognition. Pardesi, who visited the Passport Seva Kendra in Shimla set up in June last year, said biometric passports have so far been issued only to diplomats and some government high-ups in India. "We wanted to launch biometric passport system last year and had started collecting biometric details of applications also but it could not be achieved and I cannot give any time limit even now," he said.
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Punjab sees over 10 lakh passports issued in 2 years
Summary:
In a state, where urban vacationers frequently set off to Macau and California, over 10 lakh passports were issued in Punjab in the last two years, according to data released by the regional passport office in Chandigarh. "Since the implementation of passport seva project in Chandigarh in August 2010, over 10 lakh passports have been issued. In 2012 alone, about 3 lakh passport services were given to the applicants," Rakesh Agrawal, regional passport officer, Chandigarh, said on Monday. From April 2012 to April 2013 there has been a 19% increase in number of passport applicants i.e. from 39000 to 46000 per monthThe data was released on the sidelines of a meeting between Muktesh Kumar Pardeshi, joint secretary and chief passport officer, Union ministry of external affairs and passport officers of Chandigarh, Jalandhar and Amritsar on June 1 here.
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Online Payment System for passport applicants begins
Summary:
The online payment system for taking appointments has started at passport service centre in Dehradun from June 1 onwards. The centre falls under the jurisdiction of Regional Passport Office, Union Ministry of External Affairs. It had come to the notice of the authorities that large numbers of applicants were not turning up at the passport service centres despite taking valid appointment. This was resulting in lesser utilisation of processing capacity of the centre and was also causing denial of appointments for other genuine applicants. To resolve the issue of non-availability of appointments and to reduce no shows of applications, Union Ministry of External Affairs has launched an online payment system for booking appointments. Dehradun Regional Passport Officer has been chosen as pilot location to launch the online payment system. Union Ministry of External Affairs will be gradually rolling out this new system to all passport service centres across the country.
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MEA Passport Mela held to expedite process
Summary:
To expedite the application process, a 'Passport Mela' was organised by the Ministry of External Affairs on Saturday. Among the 700 slots made available, 595 appointments were booked by citizens for the camp held at the Passport Seva Kendra (PSK) at Mundhwa Road from noon onwards on Saturday. In addition, 80 walk-in appointments were issued by the Regional Passport Officer (RPO). The Passport Mela was announced to ease the rush of applicants. Applicants under normal category were allowed to apply in the Mela while the Tatkal and Walk-in applicants (except those already allowed by the RPO) were not allowed.
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From July, Jalandhar Passport Office goes paperless
Summary:
To ensure a paperless passport office from July, 2,365 pending cases were cleared in the lok adalat organised here on Friday. More than 3,400 people were called in person to the Lok Adalat and 2,897 tokens were issued. Long queues of people wanting to get their passports back were witnessed. "We have tried to clear all deported cases, Mission Reference Group (MRG) cases and cases referred by Passport Seva Kendras in Friday's attempt. Now only those cases are pending with us, which failed to appear on Friday, due to one reason or the other," the passport officer Harambir Singh Gill said. "We have also imposed penalties of Rs. 8.50 lakh in different cases and collected Rs. 3 lakh as fine," he added. "With the clearance of pending cases, we will soon turn into paperless office as all fresh work is being done in digital form on the system provided by Tata Consultancy Services," Gill said.
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Passport Seva Project Success
Publication: Business Standard (New Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad) |
Date: 30.05.2013 |
Summary:
Passport Seva Project (PSP), the mission mode program of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), has successfully completed three years of operations in Bangalore. Bangalore was the first city in which the pilot phase of PSP was first launched in 2010. During this period several operational improvements were made and significant innovative steps were taken to enhance the passport services and to roll out the PSP across India. L Madan Kumar Reddy, acting regional passport officer, Bangalore, said, "Through the implementation of Passport Seva Project in Bangalore, in the last three years we have successfully processed 11.75 lakh passport applications and issued 10.9 lakh Passports/PCC to the citizens. To make the whole experience citizen friendly, we have also organized several Passport Mela(s) to enhance the accessibility of passports for people and ease the rush of applicants."
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