About Passport Seva Portal:
- Established by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in partnership with Tata Consultancy Services, the Passport Seva portal is an excellent example of a Public-Private Partnership.
- It simplifies the passport application and renewal process in India.
- Through this portal, individuals can quickly apply for a passport or its renewal from the convenience of their homes.
- It is a user-friendly portal providing access to various passport services online.
- The MEA has retained sovereign functions like verification, granting, and issuance of a passport as well as ownership of core assets, including data and information of the applicants.
- Users can perform the following functions on the Passport Seva Online Portal:
- Apply for a new passport.
- Apply for renewal of a passport.
- Apply for re-issue of lost or damaged passport.
- Download the application form for the Police Clearance Certificate.
- Download the application form for the Surrender Certificate.
- Download the application form for the Identity Certificate.
- The portal offers complete information regarding the documents required and the process to be followed for obtaining any of the documents mentioned above. You can complete these steps online.
- But in some instances, you will be required to take a printout of the application form, book an appointment, and then visit your nearest Passport Seva Kendra.
- To be able to use the facilities made available under Passport Seva, it is mandatory to register for Passport Seva Online first.
What is the Passport Seva Project (PSP)?
- The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) is responsible for the issuance of passports to Indian citizens through a network of 37 passport offices across the country and 190 Indian missions and posts abroad.
- The PSP was launched by the MEA in May 2010, with the objective of delivering Passport Services to the citizens in a comfortable environment with wider accessibility and reliability.
- The project envisages setting up Passport Seva Kendras (PSKs) across the country, a Data Centre and Disaster Recovery Centre, a Call centre operating in multiple Indian languages, and a centralized nationwide computerized system for the issuance of passport
- With the implementation of the PSP, PSKs are working as extended arms of Regional Passport Offices.
- An applicant may ascertain the jurisdiction of the Regional Passport Office and PSK before submitting an application.
- It enables simple, efficient, and transparent processes for delivery of passports and related services.
- Apart from creating a countrywide networked environment for Government staff, it integrates with the Indian missions and posts abroad, and with a few external stakeholders, such as State Police for physical verification of applicant's credentials with India Post for delivery of passports, and UIDAI for applicant’s demographics and biometrics validation.
