About 80 lakh e-passports issued till date in India; system upgrade to check fraudulent applications
New Delhi (PTI): In a major upgrade of its passport-related system, the government has introduced a next-generation "e-passport" that combines both paper and electronic elements, a step that also seeks to detect and check forgery, impersonation and other fraudulent acts.
A senior official of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Tuesday said old legacy passports, which have not expired, will continue to remain valid till 2035 or until their expiry.
The MEA recently announced the successful rollout of the upgraded version of its flagship Passport Seva Programme (PSP), which includes the Passport Seva Programme (PSP V2.0), the Global Passport Seva Programme (GPSP V2.0), and the e-Passport, for citizens in India and those who are residing abroad.
The e-passport is a hybrid passport that combines both paper and electronic elements. It features an embedded radio frequency identification (RFID) chip and an antenna, which store and secure the holder's data in accordance with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards, the officials said.
The passport's critical information is printed on its data page as well as stored in the chip, thus making it harder to forge, they said.
Pilot testing of the e-passport began at Regional Passport Offices in Bhubaneswar and Nagpur in 2024.
After the successful pilot launch and requisite certifications, subsequently, it was rolled out at the remaining Regional Passport Offices across India in a phased manner and completed in May 2025.
"Around 80 lakh e-passports have been issued in India, till date, since the beginning of the rollout. And around 62,000 e-passports, till date, have been issued through Indian missions and posts abroad since June 2025," another senior MEA official said.
The data stored in the embedded chip of an e-passport is "read-only" and gets accessed by the system when it is tapped on a platform used during the immigration process at an airport.
"This data cannot be retrieved by anyone else, in case a person's e-passport gets lost or stolen by someone. And in case of theft, once a police complaint has been filed, the entire data on the chip can be locked by authorities," the senior official said.
Also, the embedded data is matched with pre-stored biometric data during the course of application for a passport, as this is a "major upgrade" in the entire passport-related system using modern technology, the official said.
"So, if someone tries to forge a passport or attempts to impersonate someone or get a passport issued in someone else's name, the new system will first alert if a passport with that name and demographic data already exists, and then compare and match the data furnished by an applicant with stored biometric data, and alert in case someone attempts fraudulence acts," he said.
Besides, in an e-passport, the photo used will be compliant with ICAO standards, the other official said.
The PSP Version 2.0 is designed to create a digitally integrated ecosystem connecting all stakeholders involved in passport services, with a focus on efficiency, transparency, and user convenience.
With AI-powered chat and voice bots, citizens can get help while filling out applications or when they have passport-related grievances. The new and improved passport website and mobile app give users a better experience through features like auto-filled forms, simpler document uploads, and easy online payments using UPI or QR codes, according to the MEA.
The introduction of e-passports, alongside PSP V2.0, marks "another significant milestone" for the ministry, it said.
"Critical information printed on the data page is also stored electronically on the chip, enabling enhanced security and authentication. Going forward, all newly issued passports will be e-passports, while existing non-electronic passports will remain valid until their expiry," the MEA said.
PSP V2.0 was successfully implemented across all 37 Passport Offices in India, along with their respective 93 Passport Seva Kendras (PSKs) and 451 Post Office Passport Seva Kendras (POPSKs) on May 26, 2025.
Subsequently, GPSP V2.0 was launched across Indian embassies and consulates worldwide on October 28.
There are 202 Indian missions and posts abroad, the official said.
An e-passport carries a particular symbol, and nearly 100 countries have such facilities in their immigration system, he said, adding that, in countries where such facilities are not available, "machine-readable data" printed on the e-passport page can be read by the system at an airport.
The government has three "data centres", one each in Noida and Chennai and Bengaluru, and the system and data are "owned" by the central government, the official said.
Also, there is a seven-layer security control in the security architecture to avoid any attempts of hacking and other kinds of disruption, he said.
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Delhi CM Rekha Gupta accuses Mamata Banerjee of stalling SIR; TMC hits back
Kolkata (PTI): Alleging that her West Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee had approached the Supreme Court to stall the SIR exercise to prevent the identification of infiltrators, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Sunday claimed that the people of the state have made up their minds to dislodge the Trinamool Congress from power.
The TMC countered strongly, urging Gupta to "look into her own backyard" and accused her of making absurd allegations against the TMC government without checking facts.
Addressing participants at the 'Nari Sankalp Yatra' organised by the BJP's women's wing at Science City auditorium here, Gupta alleged that the "hands-off" and appeasement policies of the TMC government had allowed thousands of infiltrators to enter the state in recent years.
She claimed that this had put a strain on basic rights such as access to water, electricity, ration, education, livelihood and the right to vote for genuine citizens.
"She wants to perpetuate this and hence is trying to stall the SIR exercise, which aims at identifying and deporting infiltrators. Imagine a chief minister going to the apex court to argue against an exercise meant to ensure free and fair polls," Gupta said.
The BJP leader alleged that appeasement politics had reached an "alarming level" under the TMC regime.
Raising concerns over women's safety, she claimed that women in the state were not secure despite having a woman chief minister.
Referring to the rape-murder of a woman doctor at RG Kar Hospital, Gupta alleged that the state government had failed to respond adequately to such crimes.
She also referred to the alleged rape of a woman medic in Durgapur and another law student on a Kolkata college campus, claiming that criminals had been emboldened to commit brutalities against women.
She alleged that in crimes against women, overall crime incidents and child marriages, West Bengal remained among the top -- "a slur on a state which once led intellectual and social movements and set examples for the rest of the country," she said.
Criticising the state government's welfare initiatives, she said schemes such as Kanyashree were built on "false claims" and asserted that women needed security rather than assurances.
Accusing the state government of blocking central schemes, Gupta alleged that funds worth "lakhs of crores of rupees" had not reached the poor due to non-implementation of programmes such as Ayushman Bharat, PM Awas Yojana and Jal Jeevan Mission by the state.
"You are only interested in renaming projects and taking credit," she said.
Gupta also alleged that the education sector in the state had been adversely affected, saying several state-run schools had closed due to a shortage of teachers and that the government was opposed to the National Education Policy.
Drawing a comparison with BJP-ruled Delhi, Gupta said, "People have already voted out 'Bhaia' (a reference to former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal). Now it is your turn to bid farewell to 'Didi'." Calling upon women to resist what she termed "strong-arm tactics", she urged them to assert their strength, invoking the imagery of Goddess Durga.
"Bengal has the right to live with dignity, and women have the right to live with dignity," she added.
Reacting to Gupta's allegations, West Bengal Women and Child Welfare minister Shashi Panja accused her of making "absurd allegations" against the Trinamool Congress government ahead of elections.
Panja alleged that during Gupta's tenure in Delhi, several incidents had raised serious concerns, including reports of missing young women and a blast near the Red Fort.
She also criticised the air pollution situation in the national capital, claiming that people were struggling to breathe.
The TMC leader said that despite being in power for a year, Gupta was making "tall claims" instead of addressing key issues in Delhi.
Panja further alleged that the Delhi CM visited West Bengal during elections to "peddle false allegations" against the state government.
Rebutting Gupta, the TMC said in a post on X said, "Madam why did you go off-script again? For your edification, here are the cold, hard facts: In total cases of crimes (IPC + SLL), Bengal ranks a respectable 15th, far safer than BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Gujarat, which languish near the bottom."
"In overall crime rate, Bengal sits comfortably at 28th. Who's second? Your own Delhi. Double Engine Gujarat and Haryana grab 4th and 5th as top-tier crime havens," the TMC said.
"In child marriage, Assam again takes the shameful pole position. And yet you dare lecture Bengal? Stop embarrassing yourself, stop the hypocrisy, and maybe fix the rotting mess in your own backyard before pointing fingers at a state that's outperforming your disasters on every key metric," the TMC countered.
