The Passport Seva Project, which will put passport-issue on a fast-track, will be up for launch in a week or two, the Mint reported on Wednesday quoting an unnamed senior official at the ministry of external affairs (MEA).

The newspaper quoted the official as saying: “The infrastructure is in place, the software glitches have been fixed, security issues have been addressed. Everything has been fully tested. We are just giving the final touches and hope to make an announcement in a week or two at the most.”

A mission mode project (MMP) under the National e-Governance Plan (NeGP), Passport Seva has missed three internal deadlines for launch. Tata Consultancy Services Ltd (TCS) bagged the Rs.1,000 crore project in October 2008. The project will reduce the time taken to issue a passport after police verification down to three days from the current 45.

Another component of the project will facilitate passport issue on the very day the application is submitted. Citizens will be able to submit passport applications online.

The project had been scheduled for a June 2009 rollout in Bangalore and Chandigarh following a three-month pilot study, under an agreement between the ministry and TCS. On missing the June launch, the internal deadline was initially moved to October and later, to November. The deadline shifts also threw the nationwide launch, earlier scheduled for January 2010, off gear.