Jun 25: The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) commemorated the 12th Passport Seva Divas on 24 June 2024 to mark the enactment of the Passports Act on 24 June 1967. Coinciding with this, a 3-day Regional Passport Officers (RPO) Conference was organized on 22-24 June in Delhi.
In his message on the Passport Seva Divas, External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar highlighted the commendable annual growth of nearly 15% in passport and related services wherein the Ministry rendered 1.65 crore passport-related services to citizens in 2023. He also underlined leveraging the power of the latest technologies to improve the citizen experience further. MEA has so far operationalized an expansive network of 440 Post office Passport Seva Kendras (POPSKs), which, along with the existing 93 Passport Seva Kendras (PSKs), take the total to 533 Passport application processing centers under 37 Regional Passport Offices (RPOs) in the country. He appreciated the passport delivery program as one of the most successful and well-appreciated models of efficient service delivery by the Government of India.
The RPOs Conference on 22 June was inaugurated by Shri Kirti Vardhan Singh, Minister of State for External Affairs. He highlighted the importance of continuous improvement of the passport delivery system and leveraging emerging technologies to further better the citizen experience.
He also presented the Passport Seva Puraskars for the best performing Passport Offices and Passport Officers, the officials of the Central Passport Organisation, State Police organizations, and personnel of the Service Provider.
Secretary (CPV & OIA) Shri Muktesh Pardeshi commended the Central Passport Organization on its achievements and stressed the need for innovative solutions to further improve the passport issuance system through the creation of a well-trained, capable, and motivated cadre of Passport employees.
The RPO Conference saw the participation of Passport Officers from 37 Passport Offices across India and officers of the Central Passport Organization led by Joint Secretary & Chief Passport Officer Dr. K J Srinivasa. Productive discussions were held on various issues including the upgradation of the Passport Seva Project, ePassports, human resources, capacity building, Public Grievance handling, Videsh Sampark program, security-related issues, etc. to provide faster, secure, and hassle-free passport services to citizens.
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