(a) whether the cases of fake passports and visas have come to the light in the country;
(b) if so, the number of such cases came to light during the last three years;
(c) the number of persons including Government officials convicted so far in this regard
during the above period;
(d) the nature of said conviction; and
(e) the steps being taken by the Government to check the cases of fake passports and visas?
THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS (SMT. PRENEET KAUR)
(a) Yes.
(b) Information in respect of fake passports for the years 2008 and 2009 is given in the
ANNEXURE – I. Information in respect of fake passports pertaining to year 2010 is being
collected. Information in respect of fake visas is also being collected.
(c) & (d) Information is being collected.
(e) The Government has taken following steps to check fraudulent practices relating to
passports :
i) Introduction of additional security features in the passport booklet;
ii) Printing of the photo of the applicant instead of pasting it in the passport;
iii) Introduction of Passport Information Services on Net (PISON), which has been made
accessible to Immigration officials at the entry and exit points in India;
iv) To prevent any pilferage of blank passport booklets in transit, all passport
consignments originating from India Security Press (ISP), Nashik are designated as sensitive
material and the Department of Posts ensures greater vigilance till their receipt by the
consignees;
v) A tracking and monitoring system for movement of passports has been introduced with
automatic alarm generation for non-receipt of consignment within the stipulated time; and
vi) Under the Passport Seva Project, an integrated passport movement tracking system from
Indian Security Press (ISP) till the issue of the passport has been introduced.