New Delhi, June 26: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Tuesday launched the mPassportSeva Mobile App along with a new scheme by which an applicant can apply for passport from anywhere in the country, an official statement said.

The mPassport Seva App, released on the occasion of the Sixth Passport Seva Divas, is available in Android and iOS platforms and will have the facilities to apply, pay and schedule appointments for passport services. 

"With the launch of this mPassport Seva App, citizens would not require access to a computer and printer to apply for passport services," it said.

The new app will support services such as new user registration; signing in to registered user account; application form filing to apply for passport and police clearance certificate; paying for passport services; appointment scheduling; application availability status; document advisor; and fee calculator.

The Ministry said its other new scheme allows applicants to choose the Regional Passport Office (RPO) and thus the desired Passport Seva Kendra (PSK) and Post Office Passport Seva Kendra (POPSK) where they wish to submit their application irrespective of whether the present residential address specified in the application form lies within the jurisdiction of the selected RPO or not. 

"The police verification, if required for a specific passport, would be conducted at the address specified in the application form. The passport will be printed and despatched by the RPO selected for application submission by the applicant," it said.

This initiative is expected to benefit the applicants who are unable to apply at a PSK or POPSK near their ordinary place of residence, it said.

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Chennai (PTI): Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin has strongly criticised the Centre over the women's reservation and accused it of trying to use it as a "weapon" to tackle the opposition before taking up the delimitation exercise based on population.

"The Union government is not concerned about implementing reservations for women. If their concerns were genuine, they could have done it right away. Rather than doing that, the BJP-led Centre is thinking of using it as a weapon to tackle opposition and take up the delimitation exercise based on population," he told PTI in an interview.

"Hence, the women's reservation must be implemented immediately without showing delimitation as a reason," the DMK president added.

Expressing apprehensions on the proposed delimitation exercise, the CM said it was the DMK that raised the first voice asserting the rights of the state after realising that Tamil Nadu would be affected by the proposed exercise. He also attacked his rival and AIADMK chief Edappadi K Palaniswami over the delimitation issue.

Recalling efforts made by the DMK to raise the issue of population-based delimitation, he said an all-party meeting and a meeting of CMs under the auspices of the Joint Action Committee seeking fair delimitation were convened. It sought to freeze delimitation for 25 years and stick to it based on the 1971 Census population.

"We urged the union government that states which successfully implemented population control programmes must not be punished," he added. 

The party came up with "Tamil Nadu poradum, Tamil Nadu vellum" (Tamil Nadu will struggle, Tamil Nadu will win) and this is DMK's stand, he said.

"However, Palaniswami, who is seeking votes for the entry of the BJP through the backdoor, has till date been mute over delimitation, and this is a betrayal of the people of Tamil Nadu."