Passports under Tatkal service to be ready in a day

The project, launched in December last year and to be completed within 19 months, will also ensure that an applicant gets his passport within three days of application if police verification is not required.

Highlighting these aspects of the new passport issuance system in Amritsar, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said on Saturday the steps are being taken to make the system applicant-friendly while balancing the needs of security.

Mukerjee said verification will be expedited through electronic linkage of the Passport Facilitation Centres with the police authorities in state capitals.

The minister, who inaugurated a Passport Centre, also said that e-passports with biometric information will be issued to the general public beginning September next year.

He said ''about 50 lakh passports were issued last year all over India by the Central Passport Organisation, compared to 22 lakh seven years ago. The total demand for passports is expected to grow to over 80 lakhs in 2010.