India has emerged as a major passport power after US and China in terms of delivery and service of applications, by crossing the landmark figure of one crore.

During the period from January 1 to December 31, 2014, the External Affairs Ministry has processed passport applications and related services of 1.01 crore applications, thereby fetching a revenue of ₹2,000 crore to the government. The figure last year was ₹1,800 crore.

This is an increase of 20 per cent compared to last year in the number of applications received and 19 per cent growth in the services rendered, Muktesh Kumar Pardeshi, Joint Secretary, Passport Service Project and Chief Passport Officer.

“The growth in passport applicants shows that Indians are outward looking. The trend is likely to continue and we hope to do better this year also, as the projected growth will be 15-20 per cent in 2015”, he told reporters here on Monday.

According to him, 87.03 lakh applications (for passport and related services) have been received and 84.69 lakh passports and related documents have been issued through the Passport Seva system. In addition to the applications received in India, about 14.96 lakh applications were received at the 183 Missions and Posts abroad and over 14.55 lakh passport and related services were rendered.

Malappuram in Kerala has emerged as the passport district of the country with maximum number of application numbering two lakh annually. Kerala, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh are among the top five states in terms of number of applications received with more than 51 per cent, he added.

Related Topics