Dr. S. Jaishankar Celebrates 12th Passport Seva Divas with Big Announcements

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) celebrated the 12th Passport Seva Divas on June 24, marking the enactment of the Passports Act in 1967. External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar highlighted the impressive annual growth of nearly 15% in passport and related services, with 1.65 crore services rendered in 2023.

Coinciding with the celebration, a three-day Regional Passport Officers (RPO) Conference was held from June 22 to 24 in Delhi. Dr. Jaishankar emphasized the use of the latest technologies to improve citizen experience. The MEA has established 440 Post Office Passport Seva Kendras (POPSKs) and 93 Passport Seva Kendras (PSKs), totaling 533 passport application centers under 37 Regional Passport Offices (RPOs) across the country.

Dr. Jaishankar praised the passport delivery program as one of the most successful models of efficient service delivery by the Government of India. He also extended his best wishes to all passport officers in India and abroad, acknowledging their efforts in promoting a citizen-centric foreign policy.

The RPO Conference was inaugurated by Kirti Vardhan Singh, Minister of State for External Affairs, who stressed the importance of continuous improvement and leveraging emerging technologies. He also presented the Passport Seva Puraskars to the best performing Passport Offices and Officers. Secretary (CPV and OIA) Muktesh Pardeshi commended the Central Passport Organization and called for innovative solutions to enhance the passport issuance system.

The conference included discussions on various topics such as the upgradation of the Passport Seva Project, ePassports, human resources, capacity building, public grievance handling, Videsh Sampark program, and security-related issues to provide faster, secure, and hassle-free passport services to citizens.