Passport services to be launched in rural India

The central government is all set to launch passport-related services in rural India through the vast network of over 100,000 internet-enabled Common Services Centres (CSCs), an official statement said Thursday.

The initiative would be undertaken by the external affairs ministry along with CSC e-Governance Services India Limited, which is promoted by the department of electronics and information technology.

The CSC scheme was approved by the government in September 2006 for setting up of more than 100,000 internet-enabled centres in rural areas under the National e-Governance Plan (NeGP).

The CSCs are the delivery points for government, private and social sector services in agriculture, health, education, banking, insurance, pension, utility bill payments and entertainment to rural citizens at their doorstep.

The passport-related services are being added as part of their bouquet of services, the release added.

Under the passport services, the external affairs ministry has made it mandatory to complete the entire form filing process online, including payment of applicable fee and scheduling of appointment for seeking passport-related services.

The services would be shortly launched in pilot mode at 15 select CSC locations in Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand. The full rollout across the country is expected to conclude by the end of March.