To further improve the security standards of Indian passports, the Ministry of External Affairs has initiated the process of issuing e-passports across the country. If you have issued a new passport or renewed your passport on or after May 28, 2025, your new passport will be an e-passport. Although this new passport looks exactly like the old passport, it has a chip on its cover below the Ashoka Pillar, which will record all the information of the passport holder. E-passport will not only prevent fake passport making and misuse of documents, but will also reduce the time taken at immigration at the airport.
The new e-passport will be convenient and secure
Arun Kumar Chatterjee, Secretary, Consular Passport and Visa Division in the Ministry of External Affairs, said e-passports are convenient, secure, time-saving at airports and in line with the established rules of international airports. E-passport holders will no longer have to waste time waiting for verification at airport immigration counters. With the new e-passport, all you need to do is insert the passport’s e-chip into the touchscreen at the entry gate, which will unlock the door. Additionally, the immigration officer will no longer need to verify every document. This is being done under the Trusted Traveler Programme, the global version of Digi Yatra at Indian airports.
E-passports have been issued to 80 lakh people
So far, e-passports have been issued to 80 lakh people across the country. 60,000 e-passports have been issued by Indian embassies abroad. To simplify and facilitate the passport process in the country, the Ministry of External Affairs is opening Passport Facilitation Centers in each Lok Sabha constituency. Till now, these centers have been opened in 511 Lok Sabha constituencies and Passport Facilitation Centers will soon be opened in the remaining 32 Lok Sabha constituencies also. According to the Ministry of External Affairs, every possible effort is being made to make the passport process more convenient and accessible for citizens.
1.5 crore passports are issued every year
According to the Ministry of External Affairs, the number of passport applications in the country is continuously increasing. Ten years ago, 50 lakh passports were issued annually, but now 1.5 crore passports are being issued annually. Passport related information is available to citizens in 17 languages.