(a) the average time taken for police verification and the extent to which the Government proposes to bring it down further; and
(b) the details of steps taken by the Government to further simplify the process of issuance of passport?
(a) the average time taken for police verification and the extent to which the Government proposes to bring it down further; and
(b) the details of steps taken by the Government to further simplify the process of issuance of passport?
THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS
[V. MURALEEDHARAN]
(a) The average time taken by State/Union Territories for submission of Police Verification Report (PVR) to issue fresh passports is continuously improving and constant efforts are being made to meet the desired timeline of 21 days. While it was 49 days in 2013, the Ministry took various measures to reduce the time taken in completion of PVR for expeditious issuance of passports which has resulted in the average time taken decline to 18 days during the period January to June 2019. It was 19 days in 2018 and 23 days in 2017. This has been made possible by following innovative measures to simplify the police verification process:
(i) The Ministry has successfully connected, till date, 731 Police Districts out of the total 771 Police Districts with the Passport Seva Project digitally under the District Police Headquarter (DPHQ) model.
(ii) The Ministry has launched the mPassport Police App for speedy submission of Police Verification Report (PVR). The App would facilitate the field level verification officers to directly capture the PVR into the system digitally. With the launch of this App, the need to download and print the physical Personal Particular Form and Questionnaire would no longer be required resulting in paperless end-to-end digital flow of the Police Verification process, further reducing the time required for completion of PVR.
The Passport Seva Project is capable of delivering the request for police verification directly to the Police Stations concerned wherever the infrastructure is available. The Ministry continuously endeavors to expedite the process of police verification through active engagement of the passport offices with the police authorities through conducting of seminars, outreach activities from time to time.
(b) The Ministry has eased the passport issuing process and has made it an online procedure including getting appointments for submission of documents for passports. Effective technical infrastructure is in place to ensure that the Passport Seva system is available for access at all times from any location. The Passport Portal (www.passportindia.gov.in) is accessible to anyone, anywhere and anytime. With a view to address the challenge of digital divide, especially in the rural hinterland, the Ministry in association with CSC e-Governance Services India Ltd. (which is promoted by the Department of Electronics and IT), has facilitated online filing of passport applications, through the vast network of Common Service Centres (CSCs) across rural hinterland.
An applicant can now apply for a passport from anywhere in India. But Police verification would be conducted by the Police Station in whose jurisdiction the address mentioned in the form falls and the passport will also be dispatched at the same address.
mPassport Seva mobile app launched on 26.06.2018 enables to apply, pay and schedule appointments for passport services. This App is available in Android and iOS platforms. It also provides passport related information including location of Passport Seva Kendras, applicable fees, mode of submission, and tracking of passport application status on smart phones. Citizens would not require access to a computer and printer to apply for passport services. Securing online appointment for submission of passport applications at PSK/ POPSK has been simplified. The current provision is allowing applicants to choose any appointment date from the earliest five available dates (working days) for scheduling/ rescheduling an appointment for passport related services. Earlier, the System used to offer only one available date to the applicant for seeking appointment for passport related services.
In the year 2017, a decision was taken to open ‘Post Office Passport Seva Kendras’ (POPSKs) in co-operation with the Department of Posts in every Parliamentary Constituency. Presently, 505 ‘Passport Kendras’ are operational in the country, as on 11th July, 2019.
The Passport Rules have also been simplified to make it easier for the citizens to get passports. This is at Annexure-I.