Union Government to open 56 Post Office Passport Seva Kendra facilities

The Union Government in the second week of February 2017 decided to open 56 Post Office Passport Seva Kendras (POPSK).

The centres will be opened at different locations of many states for delivering passport related services to public. The states include Delhi, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Assam, Odisha, Telangana, West Bengal and Rajasthan.

In January 2017, the External Affairs Ministry and the Department of Posts announced their decision to utilize the Head Post Offices in the various States as Post Office Passport Seva Kendras. The partnership is aimed at extending passport services on a larger scale and to ensure wider area coverage.

Earlier, the project was started on a pilot basis at Mysuru in Karnataka and Dahod in Gujarat on 25 January 2017.

About Indian Passport

• Indian passport is issued by the President of India to citizens of the Republic of India for travelling abroad.

• It also serves as proof of Indian citizenship as per the Passports Act (1967).

• The Consular Passport & Visa (CPV) Division of the Ministry of External Affairs is responsible for issuing Indian passports on demand to all eligible Indian citizens.

• At present, passports are issued at 37 locations across the country and at 162 Indian diplomatic missions abroad.

• In 2014, more than 10 million passports were issued by India. The number is exceeded only by China and the US.