Indian Passport: Union Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar revealed plans to speed up police verification for passport applicants, which is a big step towards improving the passport application process. In his speech on June 24, Passport Seva Diwas, he emphasised the continued efforts of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in partnership with state and union territory police to shorten verification timeframes.
Key Updates on Police Verification for Passports
Jaishankar underlined that the MEA is dedicated to providing better passport services in order to promote global mobility, investment, and commerce internationally. In addition to the current 533 passport processing centres, 37 regional passport offices, and 93 passport service centres, he announced the opening of 440 Post Office Passport Service Centres throughout India. Furthermore, there is currently integration between the passport issuance system and 187 Indian missions overseas.
“To further improve the passport distribution ecosystem, the ministry is constantly working with the police of the states/union territories to reduce the time taken in police verification,” Jaishankar stated.
The police verification procedure has been considerably improved with the launch of the “MPassport Police App,” which is currently available in 9,000 police stations in 25 states and union territories. The application seeks to improve the efficiency of the passport issue system by streamlining and speeding up the verification process.
Speeding Up Verification with Technology
In December 2023, during a Lok Sabha session, Jaishankar said that the nationwide average time for police verification takes 14 days. In areas where the MPassport Police app is used, the duration has shortened to less than five days. Ordinary passports take seven to ten days on average to be issued, whereas tatkal passports take one to three days, excluding police verification.
The integration of the passport service system with the DigiLocker platform has further facilitated a paperless documentation process, ensuring faster and more secure handling of applicants’ documents.
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