The government is working on integrating Indian embassies and consulates with passport seva projects, External Affairs Minister S M Krishna said today.

Integration of crime and criminal tracking system, emmigration, visa, foreigners registration and tracking and e-migration would be linked, Krishna said.

The ministry would also set up 16 mini Passport Seva Kendras in North East and other parts of the country, he said, after inaugurating 13 Passport Seva Kendras (PSKs) in Kerala in the presence of Chief Minister Oommen Chandy at a function here.

Krishna said delay in police verifications can be reduced with increased coordination between local police and passport offices and added that Kerala's pleas for PSKs at Pathnamthitta, Idukki, Kasaragod, Wynad and Palakaad would be looked into.

With the inauguration of 13 PSKs at Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Neyyatinkara, Kollam, Aluva, Alaupuzha, Kottayam, Thrissur, Kozhikode, Vadakara, Kannur, Payyannnoor and Malappuram, 70 of 77 proposed kendras all over the country are operational. The rest would be operational in the next few weeks.

The minister lauded Tata Consultancy Services for speedy implementation of the Passport Seva Project, e-Governance initiative undertaken by the Ministry to comprehensively overhaul the Passport Issuance system.

About 7.46 lakh passports were issued in Kerala in 2011, an increase of 21 per cent. About 5.5 million Keralites are in the Gulf, contributing significantly in foreign remittances.

"There was a time when India's foreign exchange reserves were negligible. But today it is bulging and the biggest contribution is from Kerala," he said.

Further streamlining of procedures and computerisation at passport offices and decentralisation of applications are sustained efforts in this regard, he said.