New Delhi, June 24 (UNI) External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, in his message on Passport Seva Divas, today said that the journey of passport service from 91 lakh passports in 2014 to 1.46 crore passports in the year 2024 has been marked by tech innovations which has made passport delivery relatively quicker and hassle free.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) celebrated Passport Seva Divas today to mark the enactment of the Passports Act on this day in 1967.
A three-day Regional Passport Officers (RPO) Conference is being organised from June 23-25 coinciding with this event, a statement said.
In his message on the Passport Seva Divas, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar felicitated the Ministry for implementing PSP Version 2.0 along with the e-Passport project.
EAM also mentioned that the journey of passport service from 91 lakh passports in the year 2014 to 1.46 crore passports in the year 2024 has been marked by innovations including the m-Police app, Post Office Passport Seva Kendras (POPSK), GPSP etc. which has made passport delivery relatively quicker and hassle free even in the remotest parts of the country.
Pabitra Margherita, Minister of State for External Affairs presided over the Passport Seva Divas celebration today.
In his address, he stated that the most striking feature of the passport delivery service today is its inclusive nature and affordability. He also appreciated the innovative efforts of the Passport Offices such as Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India Limited (TRIFED) outlets in the passport office which promotes tribal welfare, solar plants and rainwater harvesting plants.
He appreciated the efforts of the Ministry of External Affairs, Department of Posts and other stakeholders for making the passport services more transparent and efficient.
On this occasion, MoS also presented awards to officers, officials and organisations for their contribution in increasing the outreach as well as efficiency of passport delivery services.
The RPO Conference saw the participation of the Passport Officers from 37 Passport Offices across India and officers of the Central Passport Organization led by Joint Secretary (PSP) & Chief Passport Officer Dr. K.J. Srinivasa.
Fruitful deliberations were held on several issues including Passport Seva Project Version 2.0, roll out of e-Passports, human resource development, capacity building, public grievance handling mechanism, security related issues, etc. with an aim of imparting faster, secure and hassle free passport services to citizens.
UNI RN