On the occasion of the 12th Passport Seva Divas, External Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar greeted all passport authorities in India and abroad. Sharing his message in a social media post, Dr Jaishankar commended their efforts in furthering India’s mission of a citizen-centric foreign policy. He also lauded the widespread recognition of the significant development in the passport delivery programme over time.
Dr Jaishankar said that the Ministry of External Affairs reaffirms its commitment to making passport services more timely, reliable, accessible, citizen-friendly, transparent, and accessible. He said that the Ministry will render nearly 1.65 crore passport-related services to citizens in 2023. He also hailed the commendable annual growth of nearly 15 per cent in passports and other related services last year. In a bid to reach out to citizens at their doorsteps, the Ministry has so far operationalized 440 Post Office Passport Seva Kendra. The External Affairs Minister noted that to provide a similar service delivery experience to citizens abroad, the Ministry has successfully integrated the passport issuance systems into 187 of the missions. Dr Jaishankar further said that the passport police app has been initiated in 25 states and union territories, covering nearly a thousand police stations. The Passport Seva System has also been successfully integrated with the DigiLocker system to facilitate a paperless documentation process.
Dr Jaishankar reiterated the government’s resolve to ensure that passports serve as crucial travel documents that significantly impact a country’s development.
