More than 79K passports issued in March; Bengaluru tops list in Karnataka, Mangaluru second
Applications for new passports, renewal increase post-pandemic
Bengaluru: The Regional Passport Office (RPO) here issued its highest number of passports in Karnataka – 79,027 – in the month of March, to new applicants and to people who applied for a renewal.
The Passport Seva Kendras (PSKs) in Bengaluru issued the maximum number of passports in the state in March, with the PSKs in Mangaluru, Hubballi, Kalaburagi and Mysuru following, reports Times of India.
The application for passports had fallen drastically following the outbreak of Covid and the ban on international travel. Post-pandemic, however, the number of new applicants as well as people seeking renewal of their passports started steadily rising.
While the PSKs found it difficult to handle the high number of applications due to shortage of staff in 2021, currently, appointments for new passports and certificates for police clearance are made available at least once a week.
“Since early 2022, there is a steady hike in passport applications, the number of which has risen as people have been travelling overseas for jobs and tourism. On a daily basis, the PSK in Lalbagh receives an average of more than 1,700 applications and the process is completed for more than 1,500. At the Marathalli PSK, we get 850 applications, process about 800 applications and issue the passports every day,” said Krishna K, IFS officer at the Bengaluru RPO.
Nearly 55,000 passports were processed in Karnataka in March 2022, after the Covid problem. The number steadily increased through the year, and the period between October and December 2022 witnessed an issuance of as high as 1,97,018 passports.
Between January and March this year, up to 2,14,788 passports are learned to have been issued. The number is only expected to increase through the year.
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Union Minister Puri says he will support if Mangaluru were to organise Energy Security summit
Mangaluru (Karnataka), Jan 11: Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri has urged Dakshina Kannada MP Brijesh Chowta to organise an energy security summit in Mangaluru in collaboration with oil marketing companies.
Puri was addressing a session on India’s energy security at the seventh edition of the Mangaluru Literature Festival on Saturday.
He said the proposed summit could serve as an extension of India Energy Week, which he described as the “fulcrum” of the country's energy sector engagements.
“We can easily do it. If you want to organise an event here, talk to the oil marketing companies—I will support it,” the Minister said in response to a question on expanding energy summits beyond major cities.
Puri also invited the public to attend India Energy Week, scheduled next month.
“We started three years ago, and today it is the largest energy show in the world. It integrates fossil fuels, emerging technologies, and startups in the energy sector,” added Puri.
He said a permanent exhibition facility is being developed in Goa on the land provided by Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), similar to Bharat Mandapam and YashoBhoomi in Delhi, to host global energy conferences.
