Questions :

Will the Minister of EXTERNAL AFFAIRS be pleased to state :-

• the number of Passport Seva Kendras in the country, State-wise;
• whether the number of people going abroad from Haryana and rest of the country is increasing;

• if so, the number Passport Seva Kendras that are planned to be opened for convenience of the people in the country, State-wise, including in Haryana;
• whether the Government is considering to develop an online portal for applying for passports, in which any citizen can complete all the requisite paperwork sitting at home; and
• if so, the details and the time by which it is likely to be made operational;

ANSWER

THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS (SHRI V. MURALEEDHARAN)

• The number of Passport Seva Kendras in the country as on date is State-wise list is attached at Annexure-I.

• As per available information, the number of Indians including from Haryana, who visited abroad from 2017 to 2022 is given below:

• Ministry in association with Department of Posts (DOP) had announced in January 2017, the opening of Post Office Passport Seva Kendras (POPSK) at the Head Post Offices (HPO)/Post Offices (PO) in each Parliamentary constituency where there is no Passport Seva Kendra (PSK) or Post Office Passport Seva Kendra (POPSK). As on date, 523 Passport Kendras (93 Passport Seva Kendras and 430 Post Office Passport Seva Kendras) are operational in the country including in Haryana.

(d & e) A user-friendly portal (https://www.passportindia.gov.in) has already been made available to the citizens for applying for passports, in which any citizen can complete all the requisite paperwork sitting at home. The applicants can file as well as track the status of their applications online through this portal. In the current system of passport issuance, there is no manual intervention at any stage, and the complete process is digitally flown with re-engineered process through a single visit clearance.

STATE-WISE-LIST OF PASSPORT SEVA KENDRAS (PSKs)