Passport Patrika | January - June 2013

Passport Patrika | January – June 2013

Passport

Patr ka A bulletin of Passport services in India

-

Passport Seva Divas & Passport Officers' Conference

- Mobile Application 'mPassport Seva' - Online Payment System

A memorable moment : Shri Salman Khurshid, External Affairs Minister inaugurating Passport Seva Divas & Passport Officers' Conference. Shri J Sathyanarayna, Secretary, DeitY, looks on.

In this Issue

04

Snippets - Inaugural Address by President of India at the Budget Session of Parliament

05

Cover Story - Passport Seva Divas & Passport Officers' Conference

18

Events - Parliament Committee visits Chennai & Jaipur - EAM visits Herald House PSK, Delhi - Haj Passport Melas and Adalats at PSKs

22

Achievements & Recognition

28

Public Notice & Advisory

25

Key Statistics

29

Voice of people

26

Media & Public Outreach

32

Employees Corner

02 Passport Patrika | January – June 2013

Editorial Note The 24th June 1967 is a red letter day in the history of Indian Passport. It was on this day that the landmark Passports Act, 1967 was enacted, giving a statutory framework for issuance of passports and other travel documents by the Government of India. Prior to the promulgation of this Act, the issuance of Passports was regulated through administrative instructions.

It is a matter of great fulfilment indeed for the Central Passport Organization that the day - the 24th June- will henceforth be marked every year as 'Passport Seva Divas' to increase public awareness about the significance of the passport in today's globalized life. A passport is a valuable document and therefore, the issuance of passports assumes special significance as a citizen service delivered by the Ministry of External Affairs.

The cover story is on the first Passport Seva Divas which was observed in the august presence of Hon'ble External Affairs Minister, Shri Salman Khurshid. Addressing the Passport Officers' Conference 2013 which was held simultaneously, the Minister re-affirmed the citizen-centric role of Passport Offices and exhorted them to make sustained efforts at every level to enhance citizen experience by extending better, speedier and more secure passport services.

Three functional and security enhancements-online payment system, mobile app (mPassport Seva) and Letter Screen Image in passport data page- were unveiled by EAM on the occasion of the Passport Seva Divas. These innovative methods are receiving positive feedback from the applicants as these are helping them in scheduling their visit to Passport Seva Kendra and obtaining requisite information through smartphones.

The institution of Passport Seva Puraskars to recognize outstanding services rendered by Passport Offices and Central Passport Organization employees is yet another pro-active measure (along with the re-structuring of cadre, fast-track promotions and introduction of a Productivity Linked Incentive Scheme) taken by the Ministry towards creating a committed and motivated work force. As EAM said, “these awards would go a long way in creating benchmarks for excellence in performance and devotion to public duty”. Felicitations, once again, to all Awardees! This issue is dedicated to all officials of the Central Passport Organization and colleagues from TCS- the Service Provider for making the changes happen.

Muktesh Pardeshi Joint Secretary (PSP) & Chief Passport Officer

Passport Patrika is edited and published by Shri Muktesh Pardeshi, Joint Secretary (PSP) & Chief Passport Officer on behalf of Central Passport Organisation, Ministry of External Affairs, New Delhi Editorial Team: Muktesh Pardeshi Sanjiv Aggarwal

Address: CPV Division, Ministry of External Affairs, Patiala House Annexe, Tilak Marg, New Delhi-110 001 Tel: +91-11-23387013 Fax:+91-11-23071370

Website: http://passportindia.gov.in E-mail: passportpatrika@gmail.com

Design and Publishing Partner : TATA CONSULTANCY SERVICES

Passport Patrika | January – June 2013 03

SNIPPETS President's Inaugural Address at the Budget Session of Parliament

On 21st February 2013, the Budget Session of the Parliament began with an address by Shri Pranab Mukherjee, President to the joint sitting of both Houses of Parliament.

Excerpts from President's speech: "My Government has successfully completed the implementation of the Passport Seva Project, one of the mission-mode projects under the National eGovernance Plan, to deliver passport related services to our citizens in a timely, convenient and transparent manner."

88% of PV processed within 21 days in Andhra Pradesh in December 2012

Passport Services feature in the UPA Government's Report to the People 2012-2013

Andhra Pradesh has become first among large

On 22nd May 2013, Shri Manmohan Singh, Prime

states (10,000 PV/Week), where 88% of the PVs initiated in December 2012, were completed within 21 days. The corresponding numbers for October 2012 was only 50%.

With the active support and follow up by RPO Hyderabad & RPO Vizag, the Police Department was able to bring the count of PV pending for more than 21 days to 2800. This was a sharp decline in three months from the earlier number of 70,000. In some of the DPHq, the PVs are getting cleared in around 10 days and have zero pendency.

Minister of India and Smt. Sonia Gandhi, UPA Chairperson

“T

presented a report card ‘Report to the People 2012-2013’ for the second edition of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government. The report listed the achievements of the Government on its fourth anniversary. The improvement in Passport services feature as an item in the Report to the People 2012-2013.

Relevant extracts from report: English

he highlight of the year was the successful implementation of the Passport Seva Project which was launched in Bengaluru in May, 2010 reaching its goal in June, 2012 when the 77th passport Seva Kendra in Delhi was unveiled for public service. During 2012, about 7.39 million passport services were rendered, registering almost a three-fold increase since 2000, including issue of 5.94 million passports in India. The Government took several steps to make the passport issuance system simpler, speedier and secure by strengthening of the public grievance redressal system, setting up of a national call centre operating in 17 languages, revamping of the portal, holding of Passport Melas and Adalats to address grievances, timely disposal of the appeal cases, and improvement in physical infrastructure in Passport Offices and introduction of new security features in the passport booklets.”

04 Passport Patrika | January – June 2013

COVER STORY

Shri Salman Khurshid, External Affairs Minister being welcomed by Shri Muktesh Pardeshi, JS(PSP) & CPO

Passport Seva Divas & Passport Officers' Conference

O

n the 24th June 2013, Shri Salman Khurshid, External Affairs Minister inaugurated the Passport Officers' Conference. On this occasion, he also declared the 24 June as 'Passport Seva Divas' to mark the enactment of Passports Act on this day in 1967. The event took place at Ministry of External Affairs, Jawaharlal Nehru Bhavan, Delhi and was attended by Shri J Sathyanarayna, Secretary, Department of Electronics and Information Technology and other senior MEA officials including 37 RPOs.

Excerpts from External Affairs Minister's Speech

"Since the establishment of first five Regional Passport Offices in 1955 and the formation of the Central Passport Organisation (CPO) in 1959, passport issuance has traversed a long journey. As I understand, in the 1950s, we were issuing on an average 30,000 passports per year. These days, we issue more than 30,000 passports in a single day! Meeting this ever increasing demand for a travel document has been a major challenge for the Ministry. Over the years, expanding the network of Passport Offices, their computerisation, machine-readable passports in place of hand-written ones and decentralisation of passport services, are but a few of the landmarks in passport issuance. More recently, the Passport Seva Project, aimed at comprehensive overhaul of passport delivery system, has been successfully implemented across the country with making 77 Passport Seva Kendras (PSKs) operational, which act as extended arms of 37 Passport Offices. The setting up of PSKs is part of the Government's firm commitment to provide timely delivery of passport services to our fellow citizens. I take this opportunity to reaffirm the citizen-centric role of Passport Offices, by adopting measures, which facilitate speedier and courteous service, greater convenience and comfort to the public at large.

Passport Patrika | January – June 2013 05

COVER STORY

I

am happy that with joint efforts of the Ministry and the Service Provider, Tata Consultancy Services, PSP was rolled-out in a very short time. I would like to express my deep appreciation to all the members of the CPV Division, Central Passport Organisation, the TCS team for their earnest efforts in speedy implementation of this high impact e-governance Project. That the Computer Society of India adjudged PSP as the most significant e-Governance initiative of the Government undertaken during 2011-12 is an ample recognition of Ministry's successful efforts in application of ICT for good governance. We would also be working towards obtaining ISO Certification of the project.

Of particular significance are measures taken by the Ministry in the area of strengthening Public Grievance Redressal, making the Passport Portal more user-friendly, improving physical infrastructure of Passport Offices and incorporation of Letter Screen Image in passport booklets as additional security feature. In addition to the facility of multi-lingual call centre operating in 17 major languages and round the clock and e-mail based helpdesk, the Ministry has introduced mPassport Seva – to offer to smart-phone users, anytime anywhere, a wide variety of services such as passport application status tracking, location of PSKs and general information on various steps involved in obtaining passport.

Shri Salman Khurshid, External Affairs Minister, Shri A R Ghanashyam, AS (CPV) and Shri Muktesh Pardeshi, JS (PSP) & CPO at Dais

Under the Passport Seva programme, the Ministry has introduced some innovative methods for improved governance and citizen service delivery. One such measure is a requisite visit in person by an applicant to the nearest Passport Seva Kendra. To give the citizen assured service, we introduced the concept of a visit at a pre-appointed time. This is intended to address overcrowding which used to be a regular feature in old days. However, as we progressed over the last few months, obtaining online appointments in some of the regions in the country became a formidable challenge and a recurring theme of public scrutiny. We are hopeful that with the launch of the scheme of advance payment of passport fees through electronic modes and SBI challans at the time of online filing of application and scheduling of appointment, this challenge would be adequately met. I am extremely happy that this scheme is finally live across most parts of the country and will be fully completed in another 10 days or so. We have started receiving positive feedback from citizens about the utility and efficacy of this scheme.

06 Passport Patrika | January – June 2013

COVER STORY

O

ne of the core component upon which hinges the timely delivery of passport services is the Police Verification system. The delay in Police Verification of passport applications leading to delay in passport issuance has been a major area of concern. As I gather, online interface with District Police Authorities has brought encouraging results in some States. This model must be implemented across India. The Ministry has taken up this matter with the concerned Chief Secretaries of State Governments for speeding up verification process. At the level of Passport Officers, I feel there is scope for increased coordination with the local police would greatly help in reducing delay in clearances and improve citizen service delivery.

We are cognizant of the fact that the success of any e-Governance Project depends on what is called 'digital inclusion'. The Ministry is currently finalising the modalities on co-opting Common Service Centres for taking passport services closer to rural hinterland. It is a matter of satisfaction that the Ministry has reached an understanding with the help of the Department of Information Technology to integrate over 60,000 Common Service Centres in bringing 'public services closer home', the motto of the Government's National e-Governance Plan.

Shri Salman Khurshid, External Affairs Minister addressing the gathering

The Ministry is also looking at expanding further the network of passport service access points in the areas left untouched earlier. The Government is committed to setting up a Passport service outlet in each State and Union Territory. Our focused attention would be on establishing Passport Seva Laghu Kendras in the Northeast over the coming months. We have also requested the National Institute for Smart Government to conduct a feasibility study on the 'Next Steps' in Passport Seva Project.

Passport Patrika | January – June 2013 07

COVER STORY

Rapid advances in technology and the increasing rightful demand for transparency have created a challenging environment in which service organisations need to operate and respond more efficiently to the aspirations of citizens. Capacity building, training and development of skills are key factors in attaining mission objectives. To this end, in the coming months, the Ministry would be working on establishing a Research and Training Centre. Such a centre, apart from imparting training to officials and personnel from other stakeholders, will also work on improvement in Passport booklet, keeping in pace with the international norms in the field of travel documents.

As you know, a committed and motivated workforce is pre-requisite for achieving goals of the organisation. The Ministry has taken several steps to improve the service conditions of the CPO personnel by re-structuring of the cadre, fast-track promotions and notification of Productivity Linked Incentive Scheme. I trust the CPO personnel would benefit from uniform and well-defined work procedures, state–of-the-art infrastructure and system deployment, skill enhancement through training and the totality of their efforts would lead to higher level of satisfaction for citizens. I am told that as on date, in the new system, more than one Crore passport related services have been delivered to citizens. With a view to recognising your valuable efforts, the Ministry has selected the best Citizen Service Executive, Verification Officer, Granting Officer and Passport Office in the country based on their meritorious performance and output during 2012-13. I congratulate all the awardees and hope that these awards would go a long way in creating benchmarks for excellence in performance and devotion to public duty.

Ladies and Gentlemen

Celebrating anniversaries, commemorations or observance of days such as this are not ritualistic but instead provide opportunity to re-assess our performance and to engage ourselves in constructive interaction to learn transferable lessons for betterment of passport service delivery across the country. The Passport Offices being the public interface of the Ministry, it is essential to ensure that sustained efforts are made at every level to enhance citizen experience.

The deliberations during this Conference, I am confident, would lead to practical and forward looking suggestions for improving overall management and image of the CPO. Today as we celebrate this Passport Seva Divas, let us rededicate ourselves to respond with empathy and more efficiently in a transparent manner to meet increasing expectations of citizens to make passport issuance simpler, speedier and more secure and thus contribute our mite to good governance in the country. I wish you a very happy Passport Seva Divas and wish the Conference all success." [www.mea.gov.in]

08 Passport Patrika | January – June 2013

COVER STORY

Message of Shri Salman Khurshid, External Affairs Minister on the occasion of Passport Seva Divas 2013

Passport Patrika | January – June 2013 09

COVER STORY

Passport Officers' Conference Snapshots

Shri Salman Khurshid, External Affairs Minister unveiling plaque of New PO Building, Surat

New Passport Office Building in Surat

The

Ministry has constructed a State-of-art

Passport Office building at Moje Umra, Surat along with 22 Staff residences at a cost of Rs. 18 Crore. The building is spread over in an area of 3000 Sq. Metres.

Shri Salman Khurshid, External Affairs Minister launching 'mPassport Seva' Mobile Application

Mobile Application 'mPassport Seva'

The Ministry of External Affairs, with a view to provide mobile enablement of public services, launched a Mobile Application 'mPassport Seva' to offer a wide variety of services to Smartphone users such as Passport Application status tracking, locating the Passport Seva Kendra (PSK) and general information on various steps involved in obtaining the passport. The latest version of the application can be downloaded from Passport Seva Portal.

According

to the 'Android Reborn' website,

Passport Seva mobile application 'mPassportSeva' has been rated among the top 5 utility Android applications for Indian users. As per the website, the best thing noticed for the application is that it finds the nearest Passport Seva Kendra through phone's location settings.

New Passport Office Building in Surat

The building is fully air-conditioned with 100% power backup, 500 KVA transformer with 3-Phase supply, storage capacity of 5 Lakh files, entry to classified areas through access cards and CCTV surveillance system. The PO shifted to new location on 24th May 2013.

10 Passport Patrika | January – June 2013

Also, the mobile application enables the tracking of application status of the applicants. Additionally, it has the option of fee calculator, which shows the amount payable for a particular application. On an average, there are around 6500 downloads per week.

COVER STORY

Passport Officers' Conference Snapshots

Shri Salman Khurshid, External Affairs Minister launching Online payment facility

Online Payment System launched to ease appointment availability

Shri Salman Khurshid, External Affairs Minister was presented Passport Series 2012 with LSI feature by Shri A R Ghanashyam, AS (CPV)

Letter Screen Image in Passport Booklets Launched

Reviewing the operations over the last one year, it was observed that a large number of applicants were not turning up at the Passport Seva Kendras despite taking valid appointment. This was not only resulting in lesser utilisation of processing capacity of the PSK, but was also causing denial of appointments for other genuine applicants. To resolve the issue of non-availability of appointments and to reduce no-show of applicants, MEA has launched the Online payment system for booking appointments.

Letter Screen Image provides added level of Security

With the new process, payments can be made either by Credit /Debit Card (both Master and Visa) or Internet Banking of State Bank of India. Applicants can also use the Challan option provided on the website and deposit the money in State Bank of India (SBI) branch after generating Challan online. In such cases, upon the confirmation of payment receipt by SBI, applicants can take appointment. On payment of the fee, the system automatically allots the earliest available appointment slot to the applicant.

In order to obviate the problems of smudging of photographs and data and to improve the quality, functionality and security of Indian passports, additional security feature has been added to the passport booklet i.e. inclusion of applicant's photograph in the form of a Letter Screen Image (LSI) or 'ghost image' with personal data of the passport holder in the passport.

Passport Patrika | January – June 2013 11

COVER STORY

Passport Seva Puraskar

In recognition of the outstanding services rendered to the citizens by CPO employees and Passport Offices, the concept of "Passport Seva Puraskar" was conceived. The names of the awardees were decided by a jury consisting of members from CPV Division, NISG, NeGP and TCS. The awards were presented by External Affairs Minister.

The Passport Offices were categorised on the basis of volume of applications processed during 1st June 2012 to 31st May 2013. Accordingly, Passport Offices processing more than 2.5 Lakh applications per annum are kept in Category (A), applications processed between 1-2.5 Lakh are kept in Category (B) and applications processed below 1 Lakh are kept in Category (C).

On the basis of above and by adopting certain parameters, the best performing RPOs were awarded "Certificate of Excellence" as under: Award Category

RPO Name

Team Leader

Category A

Kozhikode

Shri K P Madhusoodanan

Category B

Jaipur

Shri Shrawan Kumar Verma

Category C

Ranchi

Shri Sanatan

The Jury members also decided to award "Certificate of Appreciation" under each category of Passport Offices as below: Award Category

RPO Name

Team Leader

Category A

Hyderabad

Shri K Srikar Reddy

Category B

Trichy

Shri K Balamurugan

Category C

Coimbatore

Shri S Sasikumar

Similarly based on number of files processed in PSK, the jury decided to award “Certificate of Merit" to the following individuals: Award Category

Name

Role

RPO Name

Category A

Lakshmi Devi K.P.

CSE

Hyderabad

Category A

G.B. Amin

VO

Ahmedabad

Category A

A.D. Solanki

GO

Ahmedabad

Category B

Sooraj T.V.

CSE

Malappuram

Category B

B.B. Waghela

VO

Surat

Category B

Rashmika Deepak Shah

GO

Surat

Category C

Jitendra Kumar Behera

CSE

Bhubaneswar

Category C

S. R. Chelladurai

VO

Coimbatore

Category C

Ashok Ramchandra Sonkusara

GO

Nagpur

Passport Patrika | January – June 2013 13

COVER STORY

Passport Seva Puraskar

14 Passport Patrika | January – June 2013

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

COVER STORY

Passport Seva Puraskar

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

External Affairs Minister giving away Passport Seva Puraskar to: (1) Lakshmi Devi K.P. (2) A.D. Solanki (3) Sooraj T.V. (4) B.B. Waghela (5) Rashmika Deepak Shah (6) Jitendra Kumar Behera (7) S. R. Chelladurai (8) A. R. Sonkusara (9) Shri K P Madhusoodanan (10) Shri Shrawan Kumar Verma (11) Shri Sanatan (12) Shri K Srikar Reddy (13) Shri K Balamurugan (14) Shri S Sasikumar

Passport Patrika | January – June 2013 15

COVER STORY

1.

2.

Passport Officers'

4. Shri A R Ghanashyam, AS (CPV) addressing the Conference 5. POs raising queries during interactive session with Shri Ranjan Mathai, Foreign Secretary 6. Shri A S Cheema, DCP Special Branch, Delhi Police speaking on improving Police integration & verification

4.

16 Passport Patrika | January – June 2013

3.

1. Shri Salman Khurshid External Affairs Minister with Regional Passport Officers 2. Shri Salman Khurshid External Affairs Minister with Leadership Team of MEA & TCS 3. Shri Salman Khurshid External Affairs Minister with Leadership Team of MEA & TCS

Conference Snapshots

5.

6.

Passport Patrika | January – June 2013 17

EVENTS Parliament Committee visits Chennai & Jaipur

The First Subcommittee of the Committee of Parliament on Official Language inspected Passport Offices at Chennai on 4th January 2013 & Jaipur on 2nd February 2013 with reference to use of Hindi language in their functioning.

Live Broadcast Program on Radio Mirchi by RPO Coimbatore

On 16th March 2013, RPO Coimbatore, Shri S. Sasikumar participated in a 3 hour live programme on FM Radio Channel 'Radio Mirchi' to sensitise passport seeking applicants and to clarify the doubts on passport related matters.

EAM visits Herald House PSK, Delhi

On 20th March 2013, Shri Salman Khurshid,

Committee visits Chennai

External Affairs Minister visited PSK at Herald House, Delhi. He spent around two hours at the PSK, keenly observed the PSK process and also interacted with citizens to understand their difficulties, issues and experiences. During his visit he unveiled PSP Mobile Application 'mPassport Seva'.

Committee visits Jaipur

Estimates Committee visits Goa

On

10th January 2013, the Committee on Estimates of Lok Sabha made a visit to Passport Office Goa with special reference to "Passport services in India'. The Committee also reviewed the functioning of Passport Office.

Shri Salman Khurshid, External Affairs Minister at Herald House PSK

Shri Ratan Tata at PSK Mumbai

O

n 15th April 2013, Shri Ratan Tata, former Chairman of Tata Sons visited Lower Parel PSK, Mumbai for renewal of his passport. A walkthrough of PSK operations was arranged for him. He was impressed with the whole system of processing of passport application at the PSK.

Committee of Estimates during visit to RPO Goa

Goa Chamber of Commerce & Industry (GCCI) Committee visits PSK Panaji

O

n 14th March 2013, Shri Manguirish Pai Raikar, President GCCI (Goa Chamber of Commerce & Industry) along with other members visited Panaji PSK. GCCI President presented a memento to Shri Krishan Kumar, Passport Officer in appreciation of excellence in passport services.

18 Passport Patrika | January – June 2013

Shri Ratan Tata with PSK Officials

EVENTS Haj Passport Melas and Adalats

O

n 23rd February 2013, Haj Passport Mela was organised at Trichy & Thanjavur PSKs. A total of 250 applicants turned up for the Mela. Further, RPO set up a special Haj helpdesk to address queries related to the passport applications, status enquiry and grievances of prospective Haj pilgrims.

On 2nd March 2013, Passport Mela for Haj Pilgrims was organised at PSK Saligramam, Chennai. A total of 665 applications were received. On 5th March 2013, special Haj Passport Adalat was organised at RPO, Patna. A total of 405 Haj applicants turned up in the Adalat and their cases were disposed off on priority.

A special Haj counter was setup at PSK Malappuram and was operational from 18th February 2013 till 12th March 2013. More than 650 passport applications were received and processed at the counter. On 7th March 2013, 'Passport Adalat for Haj pilgrims' was conducted in Coimbatore.

Passport Mela Brief (Held during the weekend) Date of Passport Mela

Passport Seva Kendra

RPO

Applications Collected

19-01-2013 19-01-2013, 16-02-2013, 06-04-2013 06-04-2013 02-02-2013, 04-05-2013, 25-05-2013 02-02-2013, 04-05-2013 02-02-2013, 16-02-2013 06-04-2013, 01-06-2013 16-02-2013 16-02-2013, 11-05-2013, 15-06-2013 09-03-2013, 27-04-2013 09-03-2013

Bareilly Thane Nashik Bhubaneswar Panaji Pune

Bareilly Thane Thane Bhubaneswar Goa Pune

311 2313 80 1046 439 2008

Madurai Malappuram Jammu West Hill, Vatakara Kannur, Payyannur Srinagar Patna

Madurai Malappuram Jammu Kozhikode

477 1853 147 705

Srinagar Patna

246 3132

Andheri, Malad, L Parel Nagpur Mithakali, Rajkot Vadodra, Vijay Cross Kolkata Bhopal Surat Gurgaon, Herald House RK Puram, Shalimar Place Ghaziabad Amritsar Chandigarh Lalbagh, Sai Arcade Mangalore, Hubli Jalandhar - I

Mumbai Nagpur Ahmedabad

1198 283 1175

Kolkata Bhopal Surat Delhi

722 243 403 642

Ghaziabad Amritsar Chandigarh Bangalore

317 347 150 1125

Jalandhar

90

09-03-2013, 10-03-2013 23-03-2013, 27-04-2013 25-05-2013, 22-06-2013 06-04-2013 06-04-2013 20-04-2013 20-04-2013 27-04-2013 27-04-2013 04-05-2013 11-05-2013 25-05-2013 01-06-2013 08-06-2013 29-06-2013

Total

19452

Passport Patrika | January – June 2013 19

EVENTS Passport Adalat - Jalandhar

On

6th April 2013, Passport Adalat was organised at RPO Jalandhar premises. The main focus of Adalat was Mission Reference Group (MRG) cases. RPO called more than 1,000 applicants through letters, out of which 850 came to participate in the Adalat. Overall 600 cases were disposed off in the Adalat.

Students with disabilities visit Herald House PSK, Delhi

On 15th May 2013, 50 Delhi University students with disabilities visited Herald House PSK for their passport applications. Students required passports for pursuing undergraduate studies on an International Educational Excellence Programme to the UK. RPO Jalandhar interacting with applicants

Department of Post Officials visit Herald House PSK, Delhi Interactive Programme with Police Authorities by RPO Coimbatore

In

order to sensitize the officials in Police Department about the Passport Verification procedure to be followed, the RPO Coimbatore organised an interactive programme in coordination with Inspector General of Police, Coimbatore on 12th June 2013 in the premises of Police Training Centre at Coimbatore. The Inspectors and Sub-Inspectors of Police of Coimbatore(Urban), Coimbatore(Rural), Erode and Tiruppur districts dealing with Passport Verification rolls participated in the programme.

On 26th April 2013, a senior delegation from the Department of Post visited Herald House PSK, Delhi. A walkthrough of PSK operations was arranged for visitors. The delegation was impressed with the PSK and its smooth operation.

The delegation during the walk-through of PSK

20 Passport Patrika | January – June 2013

EVENTS

Nitaquat (Amnesty) in Saudi Arabia

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) announced Nitaquat (Amnesty) for the regularisation of stay of illegal expatriates in Saudi Arabia till 3rd July 2013. The Saudi authorities directed all such expatriates to obtain valid resident permit and emphasised that no expatriates will be allowed to stay in KSA without valid resident permit after 3rd July 2013.

This created serious anxiety among the workers having poor financial backgrounds. Huge numbers of Indian expatriates residing there without proper documents approached Embassy of India, Riyadh and Consulate General of India, Jeddah for receiving various consular services mostly Emergency Certificates and Passports (who were able to get work and valid sponsor).

A number of measures were taken by Indian Government to facilitate their stay there as well as repatriation to India, which included exemption of fee for Emergency Certificate(G.S.R. 303(E) dated 13th May 2013), deployment of additional manpower, extended working hours at our Missions in Riyadh and Jeddah. A team of officials from Ministry including CPV Division was sent to Riyadh and Jeddah for the last month of Nitaquat.

A record number of Emergency Certificates and Passports were issued to Indian citizens during the period. As per the data available, the no. of Emergency Certificates issued from E/I, Riyadh and CGI, Jeddah is 65,000/- and 20,000/respectively. However, till the last date of Nitaquat, a large number of expatriates were unable to get their stay regularised in KSA or obtained Emergency Certificates. Thus, on the request of various forums as well as keeping in view the welfare of the expatriates, the Government of Saudi Arabia has extended the 'Nitaquat' till 14th November 2013.

What is an EC ?

An EC is a document issued by an Indian Mission / Post abroad for “authorising a person to enter India.”

Sample Emergency Certificate

Passport Patrika | January – June 2013 21

Achievements & Recognition 1 Crore passport applications processed through Passport Seva Project

The

Passport Seva Project achieved a landmark figure of processing more than 1 Crore passport applications since its inception in 2010.

Shri Muktesh Pardeshi, JS (PSP) & CPO said, "Processing more than a Crore applications for passports and related services is a noteworthy milestone. Our officials have been working relentlessly to provide hassle-free passport services to citizens. We have also taken assertive steps to streamline and simplify the process for passport applicants."

[Kerala IT News, 22nd June 2013]

Master Adnan Raja( with his parents) receiving passport from RPO Kolkata , Dr R Sivakumar. Adnan Raja became the lucky 1,00,00,000th applicant

Passport Seva wins at Tata Innovista regional rounds

Passport

Passport Seva team receiving the award from Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, former President

Seva won the regional rounds (India, North) of Tata Innovista in the 'Promising Innovations' category. The award was presented by Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, former President of India, at a ceremony held in New Delhi on 14th March 2013.

Tata Innovista is a Tata group wide programme held annually to encourage, recognise and showcase outstanding innovations done by Tata companies across the globe. This year there were 2100 innovations submitted by 64 companies. In North India, there were 243 entries of which 19 were shortlisted for the regional presentation round.

Passport Seva wins the 'Best Executed Project' Award at TCS BLITZ 2013

The Passport Seva project won the coveted 'Best Executed' project award at Blitz 2013 – TCS' annual global senior leadership conference, held in Goa on 2nd – 3rd March 2013. The Blitz awards provide the highest level of recognition to achievements and contributions by account teams and operating units during the past year.

Passport Seva team receiving the award from Shri Cyrus Mistry, Tata Group Chairman, Shri S. Ramadorai , TCS Vice Chairman and Shri N Chandrasekaran, TCS CEO & MD

22 Passport Patrika | January – June 2013

Achievements & Recognition

Three year of successful completion of Passport Seva Project in Bangalore

RPO Bangalore observed three years of successful completion of PSP in Bangalore. It was in May 2010 when the pilot project was launched in Bangalore.

With the implementation of the Passport Seva Project, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), along with its implementation partner Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), has taken assertive steps to deliver passport services to citizens in a timely, transparent, more accessible and reliable manner. Bangalore has become the first RPO to touch one million applications mark in the PSP system since 9th March 2010 when the first application was processed at Lalbagh PSK.

Since December 2012, the number of appointment slots have increased from 37,900 to 49,800 in July 2013, a rise of 32%. Correspondingly, the number of passport applications processed per month has increased from approximately 28,700 to 39,500. In the last three years, number of passport applications processed has increase by over 43%.

S

hri P S Karthigeyan, RPO Bangalore, said, "Since August 2012, Passport Seva Project in Bangalore has successfully issued 4,42,100 passports to the fellow citizens and in July itself more than 40,000 passports were dispatched. Also average time to dispatch passport is around 14 days excluding Police verification time. To make the whole experience citizen friendly, we have also organised several Passport Melas to enhance the accessibility of passports for people and ease the rush of applicants. "

Passport Patrika | January – June 2013 23

Achievements & Recognition

Civil Services Day: Background Papers for Panel Discussions

PSP has been featured as one of the 7 best examples of public services delivery in India according to a compilation of background papers by Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances, Public Grievances and Pensions, Government of India.

3.2 Passport Issuance Service Delivery

Page No. 66

24 Passport Patrika | January – June 2013

Key Statistics: Passport Services in India: Jan'13 - Jun'13

(i) Passport Applications Received Normal

Category

Fresh

Reissue

6,855 21,98,280 78,293 28,805 7,065 23,19,298

Walkin Online Official/Diplomatic DPC SPC Others Total

Tatkal 1,526 9,35,827 239 5,090 23 9,42,705

Fresh 10 1,40,310 1,269 2 4 1,41,595

Reissue

Misc (PCC / LOC) 6 1,53,507 1,53,513

13 131,61,020 1,123 3 1,62,159

Total 8,410 35,88,944 2,392 78,534 33,902 7,088 37,19,270

(ii) Passports/PCC Issued 34,50,153 1,49,846 35,99,999

No. of Passports Issued No. of PCC Issued Total

(iii) Police Verification Trends 32,44,708 31,87,635 6,25,290 50 35

No. of PV Initiated No. of PV approved by Police Police Pendency (>21 days)(as on 30 Jun 2013) Average Police Verification time % of PV completed within 21 days

(iv) Average Time for Issuance of Passport (Excluding PV Time)*

PSKs Normal

DPC/SPC/Others Tatkal

12

Normal 6

118

*excludes escalated, adverse, stop cases.

Passport Patrika | January – June 2013 25

Media & Public Outreach

1

2

3

5

4

6

7

(1) The Times of India, Pune, Dt.: 05-02-2013; (2) Deccan Chronicle, Bangalore, Dt.29-05-2013; (3) The Indian Express, Pune, Dt.: 10-05-2013; (4) The Times of India, New Delhi, Dt. 10-05-2013; (5) Financial World, New Delhi, Dt.: 26-06-2013; (6) Hindustan Times, Kolkata, Dt.: 22-04-2013; (7) The Times of India, Chennai, Dt.: 05-01-2013

26 Passport Patrika | January – June 2013

Media & Public Outreach

1

2 3

4

5 6

8

7

(1) Ahmedabad Mirror, Ahmedabad, Dt.: 13-04-2013; (2) Money Life, Dt. : 14-05-2013; (3) Campaign India, National, Dt.: 25-01-2013; (4)The Sunday Times, Pune, Dt.: 07-04-2013; (5) The Hindu, Tiruchi, Dt.: 15-05-2013; (6) The Times of India, Pune, Dt.: 24-05-2013; (7) Sakaal Times, Pune, Dt.: 07-04-2013; (8) Mail Today, New Delhi, Dt.: 11-01-2013

Passport Patrika | January – June 2013 27

Public Notice & Advisory

Acceptance of Aadhaar Letter/ Card as Proof of Identity and Proof of Address for passport application

The Ministry of External Affairs has decided and accordingly advised all Passport issuing authorities to accept Aadhaar Letter/ Card as Proof of Address (PoA) and Proof of Identity (PoI) in conjunction with any other prescribed documents for Proof of Address/ Identity for the purpose of passport application.

This is further clarified that the Acknowledgment Receipt issued by the UID authorities while applying for Aadhaar does not constitute Aadhaar Letter/ Card. An Aadhaar Letter/ Card contains 12 digits Aadhaar No., which would only be accepted as PoI and PoA by Passport Issuance Authorities (PIAs).

[29th January 2013]

Haj 2013 – 14: An Update and Advisory for Passport Applicants

As decided by the Haj Committee of India (constituted under Act of Parliament No. 35 of 2002), only valid passport holders can apply for Haj. Therefore, all prospective Haj applicants were advised to get their passport issued before the Haj announcement 2013. Applications for Haj 2013 were received between 6th February 2013 and 30th March 2013 by the Haj Committee of India as per new norms. It is a matter of satisfaction that the issuance of passports to prospective Haj pilgrims has been a very smooth affair this year. Against the allocated Haj quota of 1,25,000 applications, approximately 3 Lakh application forms were received by the Haj Committee of India by the prescribed deadline.

Instructions have been issued to all the Passport Offices to accord high priority to passport applications of prospective Haj applicants and extend requisite assistance for expeditious issuance of passports to them by means of nominating a nodal office; opening of facilitation counter, reserving appointment slots for such applicants and attending to requests/grievances petitions received from such citizens in a very prompt manner.

All concerned citizens and prospective Haj applicants are advised to apply well in time for issuance of passports so that they get their passports by end-2013/early-2014, well before the Haj announcement 2014 is made by the Haj Committee of India. All Passport Offices across India will be advised to provide requisite assistance for expeditious issuance of passports to prospective Haj applicants.

[9th May 2013]

28 Passport Patrika | January – June 2013

Citizen Feedback

In the Passport Seva Project, various channels used for feedback collection are as follows: a) Feedback forms filled at PSKs b) Touch screen facility installed at select PSKs c) E-mails received at PSP Helpdesk d) Online through the Passport Seva Portal e) Call Centre PSK-wise Overall Citizen Satisfaction Index

Collection of feedback is done on the following four parameters: a) b) c) d)

Cleanliness and ambience Courtesy Efficiency / service delivery Overall Experience

This section presents citizen satisfaction gathered over 25.68 Lac+ citizens during January 2013 – June 2013.

100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Cleanliness and Ambience

Courtesy

Excellent

Efficiency

Good

Poor

Overall Experience

Average of 99.78 % Citizen Satisfaction level overall for all PSKs.

Citizen Speak (January 2013 – June 2013) VIP Feedback • A candle in darkness of India… . Online application, scheduling of interview, friendliness of staff at Passport Office, facility for scanning of documents, interview process for verification and timely delivery of passport at home.

Everything was functioning so well despite huge workload.

Nilesh Shah, Axis Bank 21st March 2013, Mumbai • We are so pleasantly amazed that we got the jumbo new passport issued within 2 weeks (under Normal scheme: no Tatkal stuff) Sridhar Natarajan, Strategy Consultant, ex Pres Dir, Bank ICB Bumiputera, 28th January, Chennai Citizen's Comments - Appreciative/Positive • The system followed for verification of documents and time taken for the process is just excellent. We never had this experience in any Government department. We got the passport next day. Our sincere thanks to the RPO and team in Kovai for their wonderful service.

R Rathinam, 13th June 2013, Coimbatore • The quality of work PSK staff are doing is amazing. What really surprised me was modernization of Government Institution to MNC look.

Joy Solomon Rajan, Bangalore Citizen's Comments - Scope for Improvement • Please provide some shelter to our parents, they are sitting in sunlight outside of the office Sahitya Ramireddy, Vijayawada (Note: Based on similar feedback attendant is allowed to escort applicant & in some of PSKs facility of shelter arranged outside) • It's very difficult to get the appointment after that it's very easy work at PSK Manikandan, 16th January 2013, PSK Malappuram (Note: Based on similar feedback Online Payment system for booking appointment made mandatory) Passport Patrika | January – June 2013 29

A letter of appreciation from Shri R.C. Bhargava, Chairman, Maruti Suzuki on passport services at PSK Ghaziabad

30 Passport Patrika | January – June 2013

A letter of appreciation from Shri Inderjit Khanna, former Chief Secretary of Rajasthan on passport services at PSK Jaipur

Passport Patrika | January – June 2013 31

Employees Corner

DPCs held during the period

List of officers who have joined on deputation

Officials who relinquished charge Date of relinquishment

32 Passport Patrika | January – June 2013

Employees Corner

New Appointments

List of officers retired/availed VRS from service & expired during January 2013 - June 2013

Passport Patrika | January – June 2013 33

Employees Corner

List of officers retired/availed VRS from service & expired during January 2013 - June 2013

Workshop on Art of Living at RPO Coimbatore

In

order to improve the standard of living among officers and staff members and interpersonal relationship, RPO Coimbatore organised Part – I, Programme on 'Art of Living' from 21st January 2013 to 25th January 2013 after the office hours. The event was sponsored by the Rotary Club of Coimbatore. Shri A Vijai Anand, Professor of MBA, Oxford College of Business Management, who is also serving as a faculty in the 'International centre for Art of living' at Bangalore for the past 10 years handled the session.

34 Passport Patrika | January – June 2013

Employees Corner

Senior Level Appointments

Shri B. K. Gupta(IFS: 1979), who served as Additional/Special Secretary(CPV) during June 2010-April 2013, has been appointed as India's Ambassador to Italy. Shri Gupta had earlier served as Consul General in Hong Kong and Ambassador/High Commissioner in Tunisia and Papua New Guinea. He worked as RPO Delhi during 1987-92.

Shri B. K. Gupta

Shri A. R. Ghanashyam(IFS: 1982) has taken over the position of Shri B K Gupta. Shri Ghanashyam earlier served as Joint Secretary(Gulf & Haj) and Ambassador of India to Angola(2007-2010).

Shri A. R. Ghanashyam

Passport Patrika | January – June 2013 35

Steps for Passport Application Processing

A

Online Filing

B

Payment and Appointment Scheduling

C

Visit to Passport Seva Kendra

Step 1

Entry and Security check

Step 2

Token issuance

Step 3

Scanning of documents, Biometric and Photograph capture at CSE counter

Step 4

Documents verification at VO counter

Step 5

Decision on granting of passport at GO counter

Step 6

Confirmation letter

Exit

Ministry of External Affairs Government of India

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www.passportindia.gov.in 24x7 Call Centre Toll free number 1800-258-1800