TCS to issue passports in three days

[dhilipkumar]

Applying for and getting passports will be as easy as 1-2-3, with the government today awarding an Rs 1,000 crore e-project to software company TCS for issuing the travel document to citizens in just three days.

Passports applied for under the 'tatkal' (instant) scheme would be delivered in just one day.

This is Tata Consultancy Services' second largest e-governance deal with the government, which aims to nearly quadruple the number of passport counters to 1,250 from the current 345 and bring the entire process of issuing the travel document online.

The online passport delivery service project, awarded by the Ministry of External Affairs, will cut down the process of issuing a new passport to three days once police verification is completed.

"After implementation of the Project (Passport Seva Project) which will be managed end-to-end by TCS, the Ministry expects that the process of issuing a new passport will be completed in three working days while passports issued under the tatkal scheme will be despatched on the same day, subject to address and police verification of applicants," TCS CEO and Managing Director S Ramadorai said.

TCS will open 77 new Passport Seva Kendras across the country by January 2010 which will be fully computerised. The communication between police and passport office too would be done online and a secure network is being created.

Bangalore and Chandigarh would be the first to get the new Passport Seva Kendras by June 2009 on a pilot basis.

"The Passport Seva Project, based on a public-private partnership model, aims to provide passport-related services to Indian citizens in a speedy, convenient and transparent manner.