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GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO - 3346
ANSWERED ON 07/08/2026
DEMAND FOR POPSK IN ISLAMPUR
3346. SHRI KARTICK CHANDRA PAUL
Will the Minister of EXTERNAL AFFAIRS be pleased to state :-
(a) whether the Government is considering the establishment of a Post
Office Passport Seva Kendra(POPSK) in Islampur Sub Division, West
Bengal in view of demand from local residents for better
accessibility to passport services, if so, the details thereof;
(b) whether any action has been taken regarding the establishment of
POPSK in Islampur and if so, the details thereof, along with the
future plans to address this demand; and
(c) the number of passports issued by the existing POPSK in Raiganj
during the last five years, year-wise?
1ANSWER
THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS
(SHRI KIRTI VARDHAN SINGH)
(a) & (b) Opening of Passport Offices (POs), Passport Seva Kendras
(PSKs) and Post Office Passport Seva Kendras (POPSKs) is an on-going
activity that depends upon factors including scalability of the existing
PSK/POPSK, distance from the nearest POs/ PSKs/ POPSKs and the
increasing volume of passport applications from a particular region. The
Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has taken several steps to expand and
strengthen the network of PSKs and POPSKs across the country, including
in West Bengal. MEA, in association with the Department of Posts (DoP),
has opened numerous Seva Kendras at the Head Post Offices (HPOs)/Post
Offices (POs) in each Lok Sabha Constituency (LSC) where there is no PSK
or POPSK, including in West Bengal. Under this initiative, a POPSK is
already operational in Raiganj LSC, of which Islampur sub division is part.
(c) The number of passports issued by the Regional Passport Office,
Kolkata via POPSK, Raiganj during the last five years is as under :
2Data on Passports Issued Through POPSK, Raiganj
Year Number of Passports Issued
2021 2,688
2022 6,061
2023 6,298
2024 4,510
2025 2,825
2026 (till 30.06.2026) 1,738
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