Passports will be issued in 3 days

Now , passports will be issued in 3 days

New Delhi: The government is all set to issue regular passports in three days and Tatkal ones the same day. As part of the Passport Seva Project , foreign minister S M Krishna will inaugurate four Passport Seva Kendras which will make this possible , in Karnataka on Friday.

Government sources said 77 such centres will come up across the country by the end of this financial year. These centres will ensure issuance of Tatkal passports to applicants within hours. The Passport Seva Project aims to issue passports in three days as against the current 45 days. A parliamentary panel had earlier this month blamed the external affairs ministry for failing to meet the deadline for the project. It was supposed to have been launched in July last year.

The contract for implementing the Rs 1 , 000 crore project was given to TCS in October 2008. Passport Seva Project aims to provide passport-related services to citizens in a speedy , convenient and transparent manner. 

In the new system , soon after the application is submitted , the verification list will be forwarded to the district police chief. The same day , it will be segregated station-wise and forwarded to the respective police stations. Police personnel will download the applications , complete verification , upload it again and send it back to the DCP or SP's office with digital signature of the station house officer. 

Records of the person will be verified again with the city crime information centre and will be forwarded back to the passport office.