Passport Patrika | September 2010

MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS

HIGHLIGHTS:

Passport Patrika Passport Seva Kendra

Sep 2010

Snapshots Curtain Raiser at Bangalore held successfully Launch of the Passport Seva Kendra at Bangalore by Shri S.M.Krishna (External Affairs Minister) Advertisements for external communication released in Karnataka, Delhi & Punjab

Citizens waiting for their turn at the waiting area of the Passport Seva Kendra

Bangalore PSKs open to citizens from 21st May 2010 Mangalore and Hubli PSKs open to Citizens from 24th May 2010 More than 1,00,000 applications processed through Passport Seva System till date Trial run of the Chandigarh Passport Seva Kendra from August 2010

Token numbers being displayed on the screen for the citizens

Citizens being attended at the PSK counters

The Editorial Team Chairman Editor In-chief

Shri. A.Manickam, JS (CPV) & CPO Dr. T. V. Nagendra Prasad, Director (PV)

MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS

Passport Seva Desk Dear Colleagues, In the last edition, we had covered the curtain raiser event of the Passport Seva Project by Shri S.M.Krishna, Hon’ble EAM. Since then we have come up a long way. Over 1,00,000 applications have been processed on the new Passport Seva System in Bangalore and over 18, 000 applications at Chandigarh. The journey has not been without challenges. The Passport Seva Team moved ahead facing many challenges on the technology and operations front with the help and cooperation of the staff of RPO Bangalore.

There was a situation of overcrowding at Passport Seva Kendra (PSK) Lalbagh. The centre has been designed to handle capacity of 300 persons, but we started getting twice the number of applicants.

Also, citizens began crowding at the PSK right from the early morning as in the current system, instead of their appointed time. MEA and the service provider collaborated to mitigate this problem. Additional staff was rushed to the site and the service provider hired twice the size of the existing area to accommodate the rush. With these measures, the contingency at PSK Lalbagh has been controlled.

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs visited PSK Lalbagh and interacted with the staff and the citizens. They were apprised of the problems and the progress achieved till date. They were appreciative of the achievements and understanding of the fact that teething problems do occur in such large projects. Staff at RPO Bangalore has been working simultaneously both on the old and the new systems, causing them a lot of strain as the RPO Bangalore is already understaffed to the extent of 20%. Based on directions from JS(CPV), a massive pendency clearance drive was launched. Staff was sent on temporary duty from other POs to Bangalore. Over 30,000 applications pending in the old system have been cleared. We are hopeful of clearing the entire backlog on the old system by the end of September 2010. We are sincerely thankful to staff of other POs who came to Bangalore on short notice to help the Bangalore RPO staff.

Storage of documents at Passport Offices has been a major area of concern. Most POs lack adequate space and many POs operate from rented accommodation. There is also the problem of our staff not being able to attend to the destruction of old files on a regular basis. In order to solve these setbacks, CPV Division has initiated talks with the Stock Holding Corporation of India, a Government controlled body, who have expertise in large scale storage and management of archival records. If this proposal comes through, issues of storage crunch and destruction of documents on a regular basis at POs will be resolved.

Ministry has also taken up the process of convening the Departmental Promotional Committee in order to expeditiously clear the promotions of our personnel at various grades. This is being carried out on a priority as we understand that it would also benefit staff members who are on the verge of retirement.

Trials have already commenced in areas under the jurisdiction of PO Chandigarh. Regular feedback on the system is being received from the staff based on which we are constantly tuning the system. We are shortly going full live at Chandigarh. We have documented all the lessons learnt from the Go-Live exercise at Bangalore and are determined to avoid any loopholes.

With your good wishes and cooperation, we expect the Go-Live in Chandigarh to go off smoothly.

Regards, Passport Seva Team 2

MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS

Contents

Project Updates…The story so far

04

Updates on the Project’s progress

Your Space

05

CPV employees contributions

Events

06

Inauguration of Karnataka PSK

External Communication Activities

08

Technology Trends

09

Bidding Farewell

11

Health Corner

13

Citizen Queries - FAQs

14

Fun Corner

16

3

MINISTRY OF

Project Updates...The Story so far Major milestones achieved during the journey towards the deployment of the Passport Seva Project

Project Milestones

Milestones Achieved Milestones - Work in Progress Milestones to be Achieved

ACTIVITIES COVERED IN PILOT PHASE (Chronologically) Requirement gathered & frozen Basic Computer Skills Training Data Centre for PSP Pilot PSK sites finalization Process & Soft skills training for Call centre employees at Hyderabad & Mohali Process & Soft Skills training at CPPF Application Training for Police Data Migration Application Testing Pilot Locations Application Training External Communication & Branding activities 4

MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS

Project Updates TRAINING Software/Application Training delivered successfully to Chandigarh Passport Office employees Software/Application Training delivered successfully to new recruits at PSK Bangalore and Chandigarh Hand holding of the Passport Office employees at Bangalore Wave 1 trainings planned for Passport Office, PSK and Police Officials

COMMUNICATION Print Advertorials launched at Karnataka, Delhi and Punjab to educate citizens about the new passport issuance process and the Passport Seva Project and direct them to Passport Seva Kendra

GO-LIVE Bangalore, Mangalore, Hubli PSKs operational successfully Trial runs in progress at Chandigarh, Ambala and Ludhiana PSKs 31 PSKs to Go-live across Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Kerela and Tamil Nadu in Wave 1 Over 4000 private staff members to be recruited for the upcoming PSKs across India

Your Space - Your Contribu-

Ban

“It is indeed an appreciable decision of the Ministry to introduce Passport Patrika and circulate it to the CPO family. It is my humble suggestion to include an open page for the readers to share their ideas to improve the functioning of the organization and also give a chance for seeking clarifications and clearing doubts with regard to passport rules so as to implement a uniform procedure in all Offices equally relating to implementation of rules.

May I suggest some modification in the present on-line registration form meant for office space (4th page), which I hope will be benefited for office use. Presently different office seals are required to be affixed for the purpose of process of passport application.

The attached format may please be seen and if found fit, the same may be incorporated in the on-line registration form. In order to boost the 5

MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS

Inauguration of Karnataka PSK: EAM’s Speech on 28th May ‘10 Shri S.M.Krishna’s speech in the presence of Hon’ble Chief Minister of Karnataka, Shri B.S.Yeddyurappaji, Members of Parliament, Members of Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council, Mayor of Bengaluru, Employees of the Ministry of External Affairs, Passport Office and Passport Seva Kendras, Tata Consultancy Services and Media.

“It gives me great pleasure to inaugurate the Passport Seva Kendras in Bengaluru, Mangalore and Hubli.

Today’s inauguration marks a red letter day in the quest of my Ministry to bring about quantum improvement in the quality of Passport services to our citizens. This also marks the culmination of a long and arduous process of changing a 50-year old system in line with today’s needs. This change involved a study of the existing processes, study of the procedures being followed in other countries, adapting these best practices to India. This was not an easy task. There were challenges and difficulties which needed to be surmounted before the system could be opened to the public.

There were a few important factors that drove our team of dedicated colleagues in their mission to implement the Passport Seva Project. The process of economic liberalization and reforms envisioned by Shri Rajiv Gandhiji pursued with dedication and redoubled vigour by the central government since the early 1990s, brought about high growth rates and also integrated our country more closely into the rapidly globalising world. The resultant opportunities and the growing proportion of the youth in our county pushed the demand for passports to unprecedented levels. Between 1958 and 2006, the number of passport applicants increased 133 times and between 2006 and 2010, the number of passport applicants almost doubled.

This increase in the workload meant that citizens faced delays and difficulties in obtaining passports despite extensive simplification of the processes, opening of new passport offices, opening of new channels for submission and some computerization. It became clear to the Ministry that mere growth in capacity would not suffice to meet this challenge. Hence, the Ministry of External Affairs undertook the Passport Seva Project with the aim to dramatically increase the productivity.

The Project involves: Setting up of seventy seven state of the art Passport Seva Kendras across the country in the first phase 14x7 call centre operating in 18 languages Biometric capturing of all applicants Increased counters and public dealing hours Connectivity of the system to the district police headquarters to ensure faster police verification Status updates to the citizens through SMS and email Uniform procedures and transparent and time bound completion of all processes 6

MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS

Inauguration of Karnataka PSK: EAM’s Speech Continued Live trials have revealed that these measures have indeed led to a quantum improvement in the speed of processing of passport applications. The Passport Seva Project is a path breaker in more than one way. It involves several innovations. It is the first National Level Project capturing biometrics, and has set up the first Government Call centre run in 18 languages. Other hallmarks of the project include bringing together the best of the government and the private sector for the benefit of the citizens in a security sensitive project; performance linked incentives for Government staff; and retention of strategic control by the government in an IT project.

The passport system is totally dependent on the State Police for the verification of the antecedents of the applicants. While all Police Verification proformas of the applicants will flow to the district police headquarters electronically, the verification will still be done manually. Ministry has enhanced the amount payable to the State Government from Rs 100/- to Rs 150/- per verification. I would like to request the State Government, through the good offices of the Hon’ble Chief Minister and the senior police officials present, to extend their fullest cooperation to the Passport Office to get all police verification done expeditiously for the benefit of the residents of Karnataka State.

We have only taken the first step now and have a long way to go. The journey will involve learning through the challenges that lie ahead. I am confident that with the unstinted cooperation of the staff, the able project leadership team at the helm, and an experienced Service Provider, Tata Consultancy Services, we would be able to quickly move to the next phase of the project.

Such a large project would not have been possible without the support of a multitude of agencies, each playing its part. I would take this opportunity to thank the Department of Information Technology and the bodies working under its supervision like NIC, STQC, CDAC, Tata Consultancy Services, NISG, the officials of the CPV Division of my Ministry, India Post, Karnataka Police, the Project Management Unit and most importantly, all officers and staff of passport office Bengaluru.

I am pleased to inform this august gathering and the citizens through the media that next month we will launch the project in Chandigarh. After these pilot locations go full steam and are certified by an independent authority, the project will be rolled out across the country. I solicit your cooperation in fulfilling our commitment to bringing world class services to the citizens of this great country.

Thank You and Jai Hind ”

7

MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS

External Communication Advertisements published in leading Newspapers

Print Advertisement published in the leading newspapers in Karnataka and Delhi to announce the launch of the Passport Seva Project.

It educates the citizens about the process to be followed for Application form submission at DPC and also informs them about the Passport Seva Kendra locations.

Informational Advert released in Hindi for the citizens of Punjab, Chandigarh & Haryana informing about the trial run at Chandigarh RPO. It generates awareness about the Online appointment procedure and provides important details on the website, Call Centre and the new process to be followed at PSK.

8

MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS

Technology Trends – Passport Seva System Security deployment in Passport Seva Project would act as a benchmark for many Mission Mode Applications being deployed under National e-Governance Plan: In the last two issues of the Patrika, we discussed about various safeguard mechanisms deployed by the Ministry in the Passport Seva Project to protect the sovereignty and ownership of all critical assets including Data and Information by the Ministry.

As the Pilot implementation is achieved, we are also witnessing the robust security deployment protecting various layers of the Passport Seva System including Data and Information. A lot of internet malicious traffic has been observed including DoS (denial of service) attack, virus threat etc. but we have been successful in averting these threats by taking proactive measures to shield the applicant’s Data in the system. Some of the unique and noticeable efforts that have gone in strengthening the security system of the Passport Seva Project are: 1. Centralised Access - The users of the Passport Seva System have been given authorised role based access secured with Digital Signature Certificate (DSC). The beauty of such access is that no one has power to meddle with the data locally and also the task being performed by any user is also audited and tracked. It is always advisable to have centralised access for large scale Mission Mode Applications that provide better control mechanism to be adhered centrally. Some of them are: Level 1: Key Security Considerations at the User: a. User authentication performed using Biometric mechanism b. Role based access to the Passport services, transactions and data c. DSC used for submission of applications and signing the documents Level 2: Key Security Considerations at the Network/ Transport layer: a. Network Link Encryption (IPSEC) b. Encrypted HTTP session using SSL (HTTPS) Level 3: Key Security Considerations at the Application & Database layer: a. Dual key access for the system administrators b. Secure storage of user credentials c. Intrusion Prevention System to detect/prevent unauthorized activities/sessions d. Server-to-server communication encryption e. Secured/ encrypted storage of data/ data elements in the Database & DB Backups f.

Comprehensive logging & audit trail of sessions and transactions 9

MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS

Technology Trends – Passport Seva System 2. Separate Access Route - Passport Seva System has different access routes to the Passport Seva Application. Closed User Group users connected through intranet have been given secure access through a separate portal. Other stakeholders like police, post and citizens have been given access through front office portal routed through Passport Seva Gateway as they are internet based. Police officials have been given access based on DSCs as they would upload police verification report in the system.

3. Active Load Balance Data Centres/Disaster Recovery Centres - Passport Seva Data Centres, first of its kind in a Government set-up have been in operation since last three months in an active mode. Both the Data Centres are live and load is distributed among them. Citizens however, have been given single window access through www.passportindia.gov.in. Uniqueness of these data centres comes handy in case of failure of one of them. Each data centre is capable of handling full load of the other data centre i.e. catering to entire load of the Passport Seva System in disaster scenario.

4. State-of-the-art NOC (Network operation centre) - Passport Seva System also witnesses a state-ofthe-art Network Operation Centre, with well defined trouble-shooting desk such as L1, L2 and L3 support personnel posted as 24X7 operation & management which is different from other government NOC, as it is controlled by strategic control team deployed by Ministry with clear and distinct role.

5. Security standards and certifications - Passport Seva System has followed various international standards of security and process under the supervision of third party audit agency, STQC, an autonomous body of Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, GoI. Some of the critical standards followed are as under: ISO 27001 Information Security ISO 17799 Operational Integrity and Security Management ISO 20000 Service Management ISO 9001 Operations of Passport Seva Kendra ITIL/ITSM IT Infrastructure Management BioAPI 2.0 (ISO/IEC 19784-1:2005) - Biometric Framework W3C specifications Portal Development Interoperability Web Services, Open Standards IEEE/ISO specifications Project Documentation Digital Signature (DSC) RSA standards Information Access/transfer protocols- SOAP, HTTP/HTTPS My own experience confirms that PSP system has been designed, developed and deployed in best possible manner with utmost security measures, both at system and process level. Many mission mode applications would like to replicate such a highly secure deployment strategically controlled by the Ministry.

For any query write to: Golok Kumar Simili, Principal Consultant (Technology), princontech@mea.gov.in 10

MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS

Bidding Farewell List of CPO Officers who bid adieu to CPO (2010-2011) S.No.

Name

Post

Date of Retirement

Station

1.

Shri Babu Ram Arya

DPO

31.01.2010

Lucknow

2.

Smt.B Padminidevi Amma

Peon

28.02.2010

Trivandrum

3.

Shri Y V Puranik

APO

31.03.2010

Ahmedabad

4.

Smt K Prasanakumari

APO

30.04.2010

Bangalore

5.

Shri C Krishnan

Asstt.

30.04.2010

Cochin

6.

Shri P S Kharadi

PO

31.05.2010

Surat

7.

Shri D H Koli

DPO

31.05.2010

Pune

8.

Shri C B Gameti

APO

31.05.2010

Hyderabad

9.

Shri K Sreenivasan

Asstt.

30.06.2010

Madurai

10.

Shri U A Jadhva

OA

30.06.2010

Mumbai

11.

Shri P D Lakhan

Supdt.

31.07.2010

Jaipur

12.

Shri S S Rawat

Asstt.

31.07.2010

Delhi

13.

Smt. Sudha V Shukla

Supdt.

31.07.2010

Ahmedabad

14.

Shri V P Joy

Supdt.

31.07.2010

Cochin

15.

Shri Hans Raj

DPO

31.08.2010

Bareilly

16.

Smt N R Dabhi

APO

31.08.2010

Ahmedabad

17.

Shri Om Prakash

DPO

31.08.2010

Delhi

18.

Kum Asia

APO

31.08.2010

Delhi

19.

Shri Karunapuri

Recsorter

31.08.2010

Hyderabad

20.

Smt Rosamma John

APO

31.08.2010

Kozhikode

21.

Shri R Y Motling

Supdt.

31.08.2010

Thane

22.

Smt Annie Victor

APO

30.09.2010

Trichy

23.

Smt. V M Kadam

Daftry

30.09.2010

Mumbai

24.

Shri G A Sane

DPO

30.09.2010

Thane

25.

Shri V Balakrishnan

Asstt.

31.10.2010

Kozhikode

26.

Smt K N Kavu

Supdt.

31.10.2010

Cochin

27.

Sh.Ghanshyam Dubey

Asstt.

31.10.2010

Delhi

28.

Shri B K Roy

Asstt.

31.10.2010

Kolkata

29.

Shri M A Sayed

APO

30.11.2010

Pune

30.

Shri A V Gunasekaran

Supdt.

31.12.2010

Hyderabad

31.

Smt. Urmila Singh

Supdt.

31.12.2010

Lucknow

32.

Shri A A Tejwani

DPO

31.12.2010

Ahmedabad

33.

Shri Y V Puranik

APO

31.03.2010

Ahmedabad

34.

Smt K Prasanakumari

APO

30.04.2010

Bangalore

35.

Shri C Krishnan,

Asstt.

30.04.2010

Cochin

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MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS

Bidding Farewell List of CPO Officers who bid adieu to CPO (2010-2011) S.No. 36.

Name

Post

Date of Retirement

Station

Shri Navin Kumar Rajak

UDC

06.05.2010

Kolkata

(Resigned) 37.

Smt. Sital Kaur

Supdt.

20.05.2010

Jalandhar

38.

Shri P S Kharadi

PO

31.05.2010

Surat

39.

Shri D H Koli

DPO

31.05.2010

Pune

40.

Shri C B Gameti

APO

31.05.2010

Hyderabad

41.

Shri B P Solanki

Supdt.

30.04.2010

Surat

(VRS) 42.

Shri Ranjana Khare

OA

15.06.2010

Lucknow

(Expired) 43.

Smt. P Umadevi

Asstt.

25.06.2010

Trivandrum

(Expired) 44.

Shri A G Rajaganesan

UDC

28.06.2010

Madurai

(Removed from service) 45.

Shri P Janakiraman

UDC

28.06.2010

Madurai

(Removed from service) 46.

Shri K Sreenivasan

Asstt.

30.06.2010

Madurai

47.

Shri U.A.Jadhav

OA

30.06.2010

Mumbai

48.

Sh.Suman Kumar Sharma

Supdt.

30.06.2010

Lucknow

(Expired) 49.

Smt. A Mary Kurian

Supdt.

25.07.2010

50.

Shri A K Bhatia

Asstt.

30.07.2010

Cochin

(VRS) Delhi

(Expired) 51.

Shri P D Lakhan

Supdt.

31.07.2010

Jaipur

52.

Shri S S Rawat

Asstt.

31.07.2010

Delhi

53.

Smt. Sudha V Shukla

Supdt.

31.07.2010

Ahmedabad

54.

Shri V P Joy

Supdt.

31.07.2010

Cochin

55.

Shri D N Dubey

Supdt.

03.08.2010

Delhi

(VRS) 56.

Shri Sureshanand Sharma

Supdt.

09.08.2010 (VRS)

12

Delhi

MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS

Health Corner Tea is the most commonly consumed beverage in the world after water. There are numerous varieties of tea - black, green, white, oolong, red, herbal.

Green tea is tea made solely with the leaves of Camellia sinensis that have undergone minimal oxidation during processing. Green tea originated from China and has become associated with many cultures in Asia from Japan to the Middle East.

The Chinese have known about the medicinal benefits of green tea since ancient times, using it to treat everything from headaches to depression. Scientific research in both Asia and the west is providing hard evidence for the health benefits long associated with drinking green tea. A compound in green tea inhibits the growth of cancer cells. There is also a research which indicates that drinking green tea lowers total cholesterol levels, as well as improving the ratio of good (HDL) cholesterol to bad (LDL) cholesterol.

Few medical conditions in which drinking green tea is reputed to be helpful: Cancer - Stomach, Skin and Breast Rheumatoid arthritis High cholesterol levels Cardiovascular disease Infection Impaired immune function Tooth Decay Obesity The secret of green tea lies in the fact it is rich in catechin polyphenols, particularly epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) which is a powerful anti-oxidant. Green, oolong, and black teas all come from the leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant. What sets green tea apart is the way it is processed. Green tea leaves are steamed, which prevents the EGCG compound from being oxidized. By contrast, black and oolong tea leaves are made from fermented leaves, which results in the EGCG being converted into other compounds that are not nearly as effective in preventing and fighting various diseases.

Till date, the only negative side effect reported from drinking green tea is insomnia due to the fact that it contains caffeine. However, green tea contains less caffeine than coffee: there are approximately thirty to sixty mg. of caffeine in six - eight ounces of tea, compared to over one-hundred mg. in eight ounces of coffee.

So grab your cup of Green Tea but remember anything in excess is bad for health !

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MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS

Citizen Queries Frequently Asked Questions Questions

Answers

Citizen belongs to Punjab, residing currently with her husband in Bangalore for past one month. There is no address proof on her name. She was a govt. employee but resigned form her service while moving to Bangalore.

Before going to Bangalore she was posted at Assam for 10 months and before that at J&K for 3 years.

1. Under which category (retired / ordinary) should she apply as she is not receiving any pension from her services?

2. What all documents are required to provide along with passport form?

3. Is she eligible to apply for passport in Bangalore ?

4. Can she apply for passport under tatkaal category ?

5. Can she use telephone bill or other such documents which are on her husband's name, as address proof?

This is a complex case. (1) Citizen can apply as a retired person (2) For proof of identity of the citizen, army discharge certificate, copy of the army ID card etc. are accepted . This will entitle the person to post PV (3) Citizen may apply at Bangalore (4) Tatkaal is not allowed in such case (5) For proof of residence, Husband's address proof can be taken for proof of residence. However marriage certificate or affidavit is required to prove the relationship.

Citizen is a native of Bihar studying in Bangalore. He wants to apply for passport from Bangalore. There are a few doubts in his mind regarding the procedure.

1. Address Proof: As he is staying in Bangalore for past 2 years the residential proof that he possess has been provided by the gram panchayat. Is the document acceptable as address proof ? if no, then what other documents can suffice? Is there any need for him to submit his permanent residential proof document as well?

2. Proof of Date of Birth: He completed his matriculation from Nepal as his father was employed there.

The 10th SLC which is used as the proof of date of birth is from the Nepal Board (April 2005), after that immediately he moved to India and completed 12th in Bihar from CBSE board in the year 2007. He has been staying in India for past 5 years now. Is his 10th SLC valid as date of birth proof ?

(1) Bonafide certificate from the college with photograph certifying that the citizen is studying a particular course suffices for proof of address (2) police verification in such a case will be carried out at Bangalore address, (3) Mentioning “under Care of guardian” in the address should be avoided as it has a different connotation in the passport application. (4) Since citizen is born after 26.1.1989 Birth Certificate is mandatory from the Registrar of Births and Deaths at citizens place of birth, (5) If citizen’s father was working in any Indian government project in Nepal, proof of the same or some other document of citizen’s father to prove Indian nationality has to be produced.

The citizen has recently moved from U.S and needs to get his passport renewed in tatkaal, as it will expire within next 2 months. What documents should he submit as the proof of residence for renewal of the passport, as he is staying and working in India since past 2 months only.

If citizens previous passport has been issued from India, it will be easier for the authorities to verify the credentials, Since the citizen has been residing here only for the last two months, he can be granted passport only on preverification and not on Tatkaal. Certificate from the citizen’s employer stating the date since he has been working in that organization will help establish credentials, Also attach photocopy of the immigration stamp in your passport giving date of entry in India, proof of telephone connection etc. could be provided as further proof of address.

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MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS

Citizen Queries Frequently Asked Questions Questions

Answers

Citizen has to apply for a passport of her 3 year old daughter. She is divorced and possess the divorce decreee but in the decree it is not mentioned that the custody of the child is with the mother. The judgment copy contains an affidavits where in she and her husband has agreed that the child will be in mother's custody. Is this affidavit sufficient to apply for the passport ?

It is a complex case. A lot will depend on what is written in the Divorce decree. Does the husband have visitation rights or Does he pay maintenance ? Citizen will have to visit the Passport office with the documents to explain. In case a No Objection Letter for applying for a passport for the child can be obtained from the husband the matter will be simplified else a detailed reading and interpretation of the Court Decree by the Passport Officer will decide the case.

Citizen applied for passport in 2006-2007 wherein due to false local address verification he was fined RS 5000.

What is the procedure to apply for the passport now?

Citizen’s old case will be treated as closed and the fees forfeited. He will have to apply afresh at the Passport Seva Kendra along with the requisite fees and fine. Details of previous application should be mentioned in the form. The case will be escalated to the Regional Passport Officer who will adjudicate on it.

If the citizen is applying for the re-issue of passport after three years, is address proof mandatory ? As per form instruction booklet incase of tatkaal it is mandatory but not for normal.

Address proof is not mandatory for re-issue cases especially where the applicant does not want any change of address. However in case a passport has expired three years or more before, police verification is mandatory.

Police verification cannot be carried out properly if address proof is not given. Hence address proof is required.

In case of re-issue of passport of Government employee, with name change, Annexure M is required or not? As per portal it is required and as per form instruction booklet it is not required.

NOC from the department is required even in case of reissue in case of government servants. Hence annexure M or any letter from the department showing the applicants changed name is necessary. In case of gazetted Govt. servants, attested copy of the government gazette showing the change of name may also be obtained

Is Standard affidavit issued to 6 month old child?

The legal process is that any affidavit has to be signed by a person in a sound mind, which is not the case with a six month old child. Affidavit if any should be obtained from the parents.

Citizen wants to apply for a passport of her child who is 12 months old. The child's father is not alive but he held a valid passport. Does the citizen need to submit the child's father passport copy? Along with the copy of the passport, Death Certificate should also be submitted (As per portal)

Copy of the father's passport helps to identify the paternity of the child. Also in case the passport copies of both parents are there, police verification is post (otherwise pre). Hence if the father held a passport it is better to get the copy of it. Also the index check of the surname may reveal the details of the father's passport and raise doubts in the mind of the granting officer, why the copy of the passport was not submitted. Hence better to insist on copy of the father's passport. Death certificate is also required so that only the mother needs to sign on annexure "H" and the application becomes valid without the father's signature/ consent.

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MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS

Fun Corner

Brain Teasers 1. What is full of holes but still holds water ?

2. What is light as a feather, but even the strongest man cannot hold it more than a few minutes ?

3. What happened in 1961 and will not happen again until 6009 ?

4. Johnny's mother had four children. The first was April, the second was May, and the third was June. What was the name of her fourth child ?

5. There was an airplane crash, every single person died, but two people survived. How is this possible?

6. A man and his son were in an automobile accident. The man died on the way to the hospital, but the boy was rushed into surgery. The emergency room surgeon said "I can't operate, that's my son!" How is this possible?

7. What came first, the chicken or the egg?

8.

How can you use the letters in NEW DOOR to make one word ?

9.

What starts with P, ends with E, and has thousands of letters in it ?

10. What city has no people ?

SOLUTION TO BRAIN TEASERS 1.Sponge 2.His Breath 3. The year reads the same upside down 4.Johnny 5. They were married 6.The surgeon was his mother 7.Dinosaurs laid eggs long before there were chickens 8.One Word 9. Post Office 10. Electricity @

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