Parliament Question: Passport Seva Programme in Madhya Pradesh

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO - 1209 ANSWERED ON- 06/02/2026 PASSPORT SEVA PROGRAMME IN MADHYA PRADESH † 1209. SMT. HIMADRI SINGH

Will the Minister of EXTERNAL AFFAIRS be pleased to state :-

(a) the details of the special facilities being provided under the Passport Seva Programme (PSP) V2.0 in tribal-dominated and Aspirational Districts such as Shahdol in Madhya Pradesh;

(b) the technical difficulties being faced by youth while applying to go abroad for higher education and employment and the manner in which these issues are being addressed through digital tools;

(c) the time by which the facility for issuing chip-based e-Passports is likely to be fully operational at the Post Office Passport Seva Kendra

(POPSK) in Shahdol; and

(d) the percentage reduction in the time taken for Police Verification in the Shahdol Division during the last two years following the introduction of the mPassport Police App? 1ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS (SHRI KIRTI VARDHAN SINGH)

(a) The upgraded Passport Programme Version 2.0 (PSP V2.0) has been rolled out in all 37 Regional Passport Offices (RPOs) and their Passport Seva Kendras (PSKs) and Post Office Passport Seva Kendras (POPSKs) in the country, including in Madhya Pradesh, in a phased manner and the Pan-India roll out was completed on 26th May 2025. The Government of India has also taken several steps to expand the network of PSKs and POPSKs in underserved districts, including in Shahdol district and im- prove digital/online facilities for faster processing. MEA in association with Department of Posts (DoP) had decided in January 2017 to open Seva Kendras at the Head Post Offices (HPO)/Post Offices (PO) in the country called Post Office Passport Seva Kendras (POPSK) in each Lok Sabha Constituency (LSC) where there is no PSK or POPSK. POPSK Shahdol is already operational in Shahdol LSC.

Moreover, in June 2018, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) had launched the ‘Apply anywhere in India’ scheme under which a passport can be applied at any PSK/POPSK in India. Also the MEA has been regularly deploying Mobile Passport Van under respective RPOs, including under RPO Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh, for on-site passport processing in remote, tribal-dominated and hilly areas.

2(b) New digital tools introduced under PSP V2.0 have significantly ad- dressed the difficulties faced by the Passport applicants while applying to go abroad and improved the passport application and grievance-re- dressal experience by making the process faster, transparent and more user-friendly. Applicants benefit from chatbot and citizen centric service delivery system that guide them to the correct service page, provide in- formation on required documents, appointment availability and nearest PSK/POPSK. Automated biometric matching strengthens security and ac- celerates decision-making during application processing.

Ministry of External Affairs has integrated PSP V2.0 with the Dig- iLocker system of Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology

(MeitY). This integration facilitates passport applicants to upload digi- tally verified documents, like Marksheets, Aadhaar, Pan, Driving License etc., significantly reducing paperwork and manual handling. Real-time SMS/email alerts keep citizens informed at every stage of their applica- tion cycle. Further, the payment of application fees through digital mode expanded including Internet banking, debit/credit card (Visa, Master and Rupay), Unified Payments Interface (UPI) mode through Virtual Payment address/UPI id or QR code, online appointment facilities and feedback kiosks/screens to capture real-time citizen responses for quicker service improvements.

3(c) The PSP V2.0 alongwith chip-based e-Passport has already been rolled out and operational at the Post Office Passport Seva Kendra

(POPSK) in Shahdol district since May, 2025.

(d) The average time taken for Police Verification in the Shahdol dis- trict has reduced from 25 days in 2023 to 18 days in 2025. ****** 4