Hyderabad: The passport processing and verification software Verifast was bought from a firm called Poldine. When Cyberabad was given the opportunity to work on this project in January 2014, the general elections were coming up and the project lost impetus. The challenge was taken up again in June and a team headed by Cyberabad special branch ACP Ravinder Reddy, who was then an inspector, started working on the project. They roped in Mr Raghuvasu, the CEO of Poldine.
Cyberabad commissioner C.V. Anand said that at one point they had thought of giving up the task. Covering a vast area of around 3,700 km with a population of around 70 lakh, and designing a software to cater to their needs, was a huge task. From June 2014 to February 2016, the software and the team went through numerous tests and mock tests. “In this period, the software was reviewed once in three days and every time a loophole was detected, they would rectify it; and it went on like that. The officers faced a tough time in improvising the software till it was finalised,” he said.
Before Verifast was launched, a passport verifying officer from each police station would come to the commissionerate every Friday and collect a bundle of the applications. After verifying them, he would submit them the next Friday. With Verifast, the data from MEA is segregated on the same day and transferred to the officers, who can access it on tablets. “This reduced paperwork and burden on the officers, who are also entrusted with gathering intelligence in their Police stations,” added Mr Anand. He also said the government’s help with the budget was crucial to Verifast’s success.
