Over 1.2 lakh e-passports issued since March, says Chennai Regional Passport Officer

The Regional Passport Officer (RPO), Chennai, S. VijayaKumar on Thursday said over 1.20 lakh e-passports had been issued so far since it was launched last March in the city.

Addressing mediapersons on Thursday, Mr. Vijayakumar said: “E-passport is a chip-based passport and was rolled out across India recently. Chennai is the first city in south India where e-passport was rolled out in March. Till June 30, 1.20 lakh e-passports have been issued. The basic purpose of issuing e-passports is to reduce forgery and enhance security measures. It was initiated as a policy measure by the Ministry of External Affairs.”

The e-passport is a combined paper and electronic passport, with an embedded radio frequency identification (RFID) chip and antenna embedded as an inlay. The main benefit of the e-passport is its enhanced ability to maintain the integrity of its data. Since the e-passport has the data in printed form on the booklet, as well as encrypted in the chip, it makes it harder to forge.

The RPO said e-passport would facilitate the ease of travel for Indian citizens by enabling automated identity verification processes and making their interfacing with immigration authorities easier.

M-Passport initiative

Mr. Vijayakumar said the Passport Seva Mobile Van (also called M-Passport) would be rolled out in Krishnagiri district on July 7 and it would cater to the needs of those living in rural areas and were unable to travel long distances to apply for passports.

The mobile passport seva van will be boon in order to provide last-mile connectivity, especially to prospective applicants, he said the RPO, adding that the mobile service would be extended to other districts within the RPO Chennai jurisdiction. People can get appointments using the Passport seva website.

He said there were 13 Post Office Passport Seva Kendras (POSK) within RPO, Chennai, and the process is on to open another in Perambur soon. “We have a policy to set up POSK in each and every Parliamentary constituency,” said Mr. Vijayakumar.