VISAKHAPATNAM: The Passport Seva Kendra (PSK), the flagship of e-governance initiative by the Ministry of External Affairs in association with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) for a comprehensive reform of passport issuing system was inaugurated in Visakhapatnam on Friday. It is the first PSK in the state.Inaugurating the PSK at Muralinagar, Chief Passport Officer Muktesh Kumar Pardeshi said the kendra, a state-of-the-art facility, would process initial work within three days while the passport would be delivered in less than 10 days after police verification.The Central government has sanctioned seven PSKs for the state. Apart from the one at Visakhapatnam, three would be set up in Hyderabad and one each in Vijayawada, Tirupati and Nizamabad.Pardeshi said delivery of passport at present, is taking over 45 days mostly due to the time taken in police verification. If there is proper coordination between police and the PSK, passports can be delivered soon. The kendra would not only ensure speedy delivery of passports but also record information of people for security purposes, he added.The PSK can process about one lakh applications a year, he said. Currently, the Regional Passport Office in Viskhapatnam handles around 80,000 applications every year.Passports would be issued under tatkal system in three days through the PSKs unlike the regular system wherein passports are issued in six days, excluding the time taken for police verification reports.Currently, all passport offices in the country are issuing around 60 lakh passports every year and are expected to issue around one crore by 2015. Passport applicants can now apply online through the website www.passportindia.gov.in and seek an appointment to visit the PSK office in person at their convenience.Passport Officer, Hyderabad, KS Reddy said there is a constant stream of passport seekers and services of the regional passport office in Hyderabad is often found falling short to meet the demand.However, passport officials underlined the need for training more police officers on the process of issuing verification reports. Commissioner of Police J Purnachandra Rao, Vice-Chairman of VUDA Kona Sasidhar and others were present.
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