To speed up the process of issuing passports with transparency, the ministry of external affairs (MEA) in partnership with the IT firm Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) inaugurated a passport seva kendra (PSK) here on Thursday. The initiative falls under one of the mission mode projects of the national e-governance plan [NeGP] of the government of India.

The new office, at the Herald House near ITO, takes the total count of operational passport seva kendras across 12 states to 50. These include three PSKs in Delhi, ten in Kerala, seven in Punjab and five in Gujarat. The other regional passport offices (RPO) are already operational under the jurisdiction of the RPO Delhi. Also, the PSK at Ghaziabad was designated to accept applications from residents of east Delhi. However, with the opening of the new PSK, the one in Ghaziabad will stop accepting applications from Delhi residents.

The external affairs ministry expressed its willingness to open a passport office in every district that receives more than 15,000 applications a year. The idea is to get rid of the agents and the bribes associated.

SM Krishna, minister of external affairs, said, “Apart from the 77 PSKs being established, we are also planning smaller PSKs for the people in the northeastern states and addressing their problems.”

According to statistics given by the ministry, around 10,000 citizens visit the PSKs daily across the country and over 12,000 average calls are handled by the kendras to guide applicants.

The passport seva project (PSP) network now connects with the police of all states and union territories.