The government has done a great service by eliminating the need for police verification at the time of renewal of an applicant’s passport. This is subject, however, to the applicant having got police clearance for the original passport. The requirement of police verification was a major cause of delays during passport renewals. Finding a time that would suit both the police and the applicant for a home visit was a hassle that one would have to go through every 10 years, the life of a passport. So it is indeed a boon for millions of Indians, particularly for those working in the Gulf and other countries.
The number of Indians travelling has been rising and this decision, given in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha by the MoS for external affairs, Gen. V.K. Singh (Retd), comes at an opportune time. It will eliminate the major delays caused by the police having to visit the home of the applicant to verify his/her presence there as a resident for the renewal of the passport.
Even better news awaits passport applicants it is said the government is working on a countrywide online police verification project that will further cut the time taken for issuing a passport to a week from the present one month. It is an ambitious and rather bold project whereby the district police head will access the applicant’s details through the National Population Register, Aadhaar and Criminal Tracking Network System.
