(a) whether the Government is going to start verification online for issuing passport and its renewal;
(b) if so, the details thereof;
(c) the time taken at present for police verification and the time proposed to be taken for online verification;
(d) the arrangements being made by the Government in rural areas where police takes a lot of time for verification; and
(e) the time by which this facility is likely to be started?
THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS
[GEN. (DR) V. K. SINGH (RETD)]
(a) to (e) Under the Passport Seva Project, out of 728 police districts in the country, 654 districts have already been integrated with Passport Seva system for online police verification for issuing fresh passports and renewal of passports. As per January – June, 2015 passport services data, the average time taken by states/union territories for police verification is 36 calendar days which is gradually coming down. The desired time line for police verification is 21 days. The time taken for police verification, including in rural areas, would be reduced once the Crime & Criminal Tracking Network & Systems (CCTNS) being developed by the Ministry of Home Affairs, is integrated with Passport Seva system.
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