Government to issue e-passports for all Indian citizens from next year

The process of issuing 20,000 e-passports has been completed by the Government

The government of India will begin issuing e-passports on applying for a new passport or going to apply for a reissue in 2021, you will receive an e-passport with an electronic microprocessor chip.

The process of issuing 20,000 e-passports embedded with an electronic microprocessor chip has been completed by the Government, according to the Economic Times report.

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The approach for granting these passports with the aid of the agency assigned for building up the IT infrastructure and presenting a solution to the initiative. The IT infrastructure is planned to be set up in
Delhi and Chennai to produce between 10,000 and 20,000 e-passport units an hour.

As per the ET report, all 36 passport offices in the country would issue e-passports as and when the elements of the adjustment scheme are incorporated into the current issuing system.To maintain interoperability among countries, the e-passports will be based on the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) norm.

“I am very confident that the introduction of e-passports will greatly strengthen the security of our travel documents. I understand that the procurement process for its production is currently underway and I would emphasize the need to hasten that as much as possible,” External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had said.

“I emphasize that it is necessary to roll out the manufacture of e-passports on a priority basis,” Jaishankar added.