Bangalore: The ministry of external affairs (MEA) will incorporate new software to speed up the process of delivering passports by the end of this month.
A ministry spokesperson told TOI that the ministry had received many complaints on the slow process of passport clearance.We have found that the process is taking more than two months,though we had promised passport within three days of accepting application, he said.
The new software will be installed by the outsourcing agency Tata Consultancy Services appointed by MEA,which operates Passport Seva Kendras (PSK),by the end of June.The high-speed servers will help in speeding up the process of passport verification by police.The downloading of the verification forms will be much quicker compared to the present slow speed servers, the spokesperson said.
We had received complaints from police that the verification forms to be filled by the respective police stations could not downloaded as the servers were slow.Once the passport application is submitted,the process will take a couple of days.Any delay now will be from the part of police authorities,who verifies the antecedents of the passport seekers, he said.
To speed up the verification,Bangalore police had recently ordered inspectors of each police station to be present at the police stations on all Sundays between 10 am and 1 pm.During the last week of May,city police had cleared more than 550 passport verification forms through the new initiative.
Presently only six PSKs are set up throughout the country,which includes two in Bangalore.By the end of this year we will have at least 51 PSKs across the country.Twenty more will follow next year, the spokesperson said.The MEA felt that with the new software and highspeed servers the original plan will be put in place.
ORIGINAL PLAN
Issue of fresh passport (post-police verification):
Dispatch after three working days after submission of application In case of pre-police verification,it will take three working days plus time taken for police verification
Re-issue of passport:
Dispatch after three working days of submission of application
Issue/re-issue of passport under tatkal scheme:
Same day Change of name/ other personal details in the passport: Three working days
Source: Times of India
