Bengaluru: The regional passport office (RPO) Bengaluru has achieved a rare distinction of issuing the highest number of passports per staff in the country. In the recent conference of regional passport officers held last month in New Delhi, the Bengaluru RPO was recognised for its highest productivity and efficiency. Around 4.5 lakh passports are issued from the RPO annually, which is said to be 70 per cent more than the national average of passports issued by an RPO.
Regional Passport Officer Bengaluru P.S. Karthigeyan said that around 14 passports per staff are issued from the Bengaluru PO every day and he is trying to increase the output and bring down the pendency period from 30 days to at least 10 days.
“We handle the second highest number of passport applications in the country after Hyderabad. Last year we had received 4,48,308 applications and we had issued 4,25,010 passports. Besides, we also issue police clearance certificates to people, who are looking for jobs overseas. Some countries demand a police clearance certificate and we provide them from here. We had rendered 11,989 certificates last year against 12,238 applications for clearance certificates,” said Mr Karthigeyan.
The passport office, which comprises four passport seva kendras (PSKs), two in Bengaluru and one each in Hubli-Dharwad and Mangalore, gives 2,100 appointments every day excluding the walk-ins. To cater to the burgeoning demand for passports the Central government is likely to pool in the post offices again for applying for passports, a service which was discontinued with the setting up of PSKs.
“The objective is to increase the output of passport offices and help the common man, who is either not Internet savvy or in the rural areas to get a passport. The government is working the modalities with the post offices to help the customers register passport applications online. They may later engage with the village level entrepreneur (VLE) to help people in the villages get their passport,” said the officer.
Chief Postmaster General Karnataka Ramanujam told this newspaper that the MEA has approached the postal department to resume passport application work but it may take time because it would be done on pan India basis. “This time it will not be done manually and is likely to be a fee-based service,” said Mr Ramanujam.
75% applicants have no college education
Nearly 75% of passport applications in the country are from people, who are either just 10th standard pass or not even that. According to sources in the Ministry of External Affairs, 41% applicants are those, who have not even cleared their 10th grade and 35% are those with a mere 10th grade pass certificate. People in the age group of 19 to 30 years constitute 42% of the passport applicants and 24 per cent applications come from people in the age group of 31 to 45 years. Highest demand for passports is from Kerala.
Rejected applications: More time for correction
Around 10 pc of passport applicants with valid appointments are turned down because of deficiency in documents. “Till now they were given three days to return with their valid documents but now we have started giving them time up to one year to come back with their complete documents. They get a log in number, which they can quote once they are ready with their papers. They need not seek a fresh appointment at the PSK. We have started the process in PSKs in Hubli-Dharwad and Mangalore and have done a trial run in Marathahalli PSK,” Karthigeyan said.
