Marking the enactment of the Passports Act on June 24, 1967, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) celebrated the 12th Passport Seva Divas. Coinciding with this, a three-day Regional Passport Officers (RPO) Conference was held in Delhi from June 22-24.

In his message, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar highlighted a remarkable annual growth of nearly 15% in passport and related services, with the Ministry providing 1.65 crore such services in 2023. He emphasized the use of the latest technologies to enhance the citizen experience. The MEA has established an extensive network of 440 Post Office Passport Seva Kendras (POPSKs) in addition to the existing 93 Passport Seva Kendras (PSKs), making a total of 533 passport application processing centers under 37 Regional Passport Offices (RPOs) nationwide. Jaishankar praised the passport delivery program as one of the most efficient and well-regarded government services in India.

The RPO Conference was inaugurated by Kirti Vardhan Singh, Minister of State for External Affairs, who stressed the need for continuous improvement in the passport delivery system and the adoption of emerging technologies to further enhance citizen experience.

Singh also presented the Passport Seva Puraskars to the best performing Passport Offices and Officers, as well as to officials from the Central Passport Organization, State Police, and the Service Provider.

Secretary (CPV & OIA) Muktesh Pardeshi commended the Central Passport Organization’s achievements and stressed the need for innovative solutions to improve the passport issuance system. He highlighted the importance of creating a well-trained, capable, and motivated cadre of Passport employees.

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The conference saw participation from Passport Officers across India and included productive discussions on upgrading the Passport Seva Project, implementing ePassports, human resources, capacity building, handling public grievances, the Videsh Sampark program, and security-related issues, all aimed at providing faster, secure, and hassle-free passport services to citizens.