Parliament Question: POPSKs at Barshi, Maharashtra

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO - 1104 ANSWERED ON - 24/07/2026 POPSKS AT BARSHI, MAHARASHTRA †1104. SHRI OMPRAKASH BHUPALSINH ALIAS PAVAN RAJENIMBALKAR: Will the Minister of EXTERNAL AFFAIRS be pleased to state: (a) whether the Government is aware of the demand regarding setting up of a new Post Office Passport Seva Kendra (POPSK) at Barshi in Solapur district, Maharashtra; (b) if so, the action taken so far on the said demand and the current status thereof; (c) whether the Government proposes to set up a Post Office Passport Seva Kendra at Barshi; and (d) if so, the time by which it is likely to be set up and if not, the reasons therefor? 1ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS (SHRI KIRTI VARDHAN SINGH) (a) Yes. (b) to (d) Opening of Passport Seva Kendras (PSKs)/Post Office Passport Seva Kendras (POPSKs) is an on-going activity and depends upon various factors including scalability of the present PSK/POPSK, distance from existing PSKs/ POPSKs and increasing demand of passport applications from a particular region. The Ministry of External Affairs, in association with the Department of Posts (DoP), decided in January 2017 to open Seva Kendras at the Head Post Offices (HPO)/Post Offices (PO) in the country, including in Maharashtra, called Post Office Passport Seva Kendras (POPSK) in each Lok Sabha Constituency (LSC) where there is no PSK or POPSK. Under this initiative, a POPSK is already functional at Osmanabad (Dharashiv) in the Osmanabad (Dharashiv) Lok Sabha Constituency and Barshi Taluka falls under this LSC. ***** 2