Parliament Question: Passport Services in Punjab

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3511 ANSWERED ON 13/03/2026 PASSPORT SERVICES IN PUNJAB 3511. DR. AMAR SINGH Will the Minister of EXTERNAL AFFAIRS be pleased to state: (a) whether the Government has undertaken any assessment of the availability, accessibility and efficiency of passport services in the State of Punjab, if so, the details thereof; (b) the number and location of Passport Seva Kendras (PSKs) and Post Office Passport Seva Kendras (POPSKs) functioning in Punjab, district- wise, and the average time taken for issuance of passports during the last three years; (c) whether the Government is aware of delays in appointments, police verification and passport issuance reported by applicants in various districts of Punjab, if so, the details thereof; 1(d) whether any proposals have been received or are under consideration for opening additional PSKs or expanding capacity of existing ones in the said State, if so, the details thereof; and (e) the steps being taken to improve service delivery, reduce pendency and ensure timely issuance of passports to residents of Punjab? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS (SHRI PABITRA MARGHERITA) (a) The Passport Seva Program (PSP) is a benchmark in India’s e-gov- ernance success, demonstrating the power of digital transformation, Public Private Partnership (PPP) collaboration, and process innovation. In line with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) commitment to en- hance the quality of passport-related services and to integrate the latest technological advancements, PSP Version 2.0 (PSP V2.0) was success- fully implemented across all Passport Offices in India, along with their respective Passport Seva Kendras (PSKs) and Post Office Passport Seva Kendras (POPSKs), including the PSKs/POPSKs in Punjab, on 26th May 2025. The upgraded Passport Seva Programme Version 2.0 (PSP V2.0) aims at providing the next level of citizen experiences using latest and 2upgraded technology for delivery of passport related services to the cit- izens in a speedy, convenient and transparent manner. (b) There are 05 PSKs and 09 POPSKs currently functioning under 03 Re- gional Passport Offices (RPOs) in the State of Punjab. The detail is given below:- Name of RPO Name Of PSK Name of POPSK RPO Amritsar PSK Amritsar Ferozpur RPO Chandigarh PSK Ludhiana Bassi Pathanan RPO Jalandhar PSK Hoshiarpur Bathinda PSK Jalandhar Malerkotla PSK Chandigarh Patiala Ropar Moga Pathankot Phagwara Further, the average time taken for issuance of passports under 3 RPOs in the State of Punjab during the last three years is as under: Average time taken for issuance of Passport (excluding Police Verification (PV) time) Normal category pass- Tatkaal category pass- Years port port 2023 10 WD 2 WD 2024 15 WD 3 WD 2025 12 WD 4 WD WD = Working Days 3(c) Appointments for passport services (normal and Tatkaal passports) under the three RPOs (Amritsar, Chandigarh and Jalandhar) in Punjab are available on next working day. There is no noticeable delay in passport services in Punjab. Passports are issued within 2 – 4 working days for Tatkaal category and 10 – 15 working day for normal category, excluding police verification time. Police verification is conducted within 2 -16 days. (d) In 2017, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in association with De- partment of Posts (DoP) had announced opening of Passport Seva Kendras at the Head Post Offices/Post Offices called Post Office Pass- port Seva Kendra (POPSK) in each Lok Sabha Constituency (LSC) where there is no Passport Seva Kendra (PSK) or POPSK. Under this initiative, all the LSCs in Punjab, except for Taran Taran LSC, are having either a PSK or POPSK. MEA is regularly following up with DoP for opening of a POPSK in Taran Taran LSC, as well. Further, for expanding the capacity in PSKs in Punjab, PSK Jalandhar and PSK Ludhiana were shifted in 2025 to a location with larger space and improved infrastructure. (e) Passport services are provided through the Passport Seva Kendras (PSKs) and Post Office Passport Seva Kendras (POPSKs) under three Re- gional Passport Offices (RPOs) functional in the State of Punjab. Due to the rise in demand and pendency in issuance of passport, MEA has been working continuously to speed up passport issuance and meet high or 4seasonal demand for passports by taking various steps including in- creasing the number of daily appointments and organizing special drives on weekends. Staff from Ministry and other passport offices are also de- ployed to clear the pendency. As part of the special drive, walk-in ap- pointments are given by RPO for expeditiously clearing the pending files. Passport adalats are also conducted to clear pending passport applica- tions under the respective RPOs. Mobile Passport Van facility has been provided at all 37 Regional Passport Offices (RPOs), including RPOs in Punjab, to increase the outreach of the RPO and provide passport ser- vice at remote, rural and underserved areas under the respective RPOs. ***** 5