New Delhi: In a significant step towards modernising India’s passport system, the Ministry of External Affairs has rolled out the e-passport initiative to make travel more secure.
The implementation of the e-passport project has started as part of the Passport Seva Programme (PSP) Version 2.0, which was launched on April 1, 2024.
This pilot program aims to enhance security, streamline international travel, and protect passport holders’ data from duplication or tampering.
The e-passports are now being distributed in the cities of Nagpur, Bhubaneswar, Jammu, Goa, Shimla, Raipur, Amritsar, Jaipur, Chennai, Hyderabad, Surat, Ranchi, and Delhi.
The Ministry of External Affairs clarified that this marks the beginning of a phased nationwide rollout, with full implementation across all Indian Passport Seva Kendras expected by mid-2025.
The e-passport combines traditional paper documentation with a secure, electronic chip that holds personal and biometric data.
This new technology marks a major leap in the country’s push for secure, tech-driven public services, offering enhanced protection against fraud and making identity verification more efficient.
The Indian e-Passports contain an antenna as well as a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) chip embedded within an inlay, making it quite identifiable as different from ordinary passports because of a gold-coloured symbol that is printed below the front cover.
This chip stores the holder’s personal information and biometric details, making it easier to authenticate the passport during international travel.
The digitally signed chip significantly reduces the risk of passport duplication, forgery, and identity theft.
Besides, immigration officials can quickly authenticate the passport using the chip, speeding up checks at borders.
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The Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) ensures that sensitive data stored on the chip is encrypted and can’t be accessed or altered by unauthorised parties.
The government plans to extend this service to all Passport Seva Kendras across the country by mid-2025.
