Ministry of External Affairs provided 1.65 crore passport-related services in 2023, Jaishankar praised the officials

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) delivered 1.65 crore passport-related services to individuals in 2023. It saw an annual growth rate of approximately 15%. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar remarked on this on Monday, complimenting the workers for providing efficient passport-related services.

The MEA celebrated the 12th Passport Seva Diwas today. Along with this, a three-day Regional Passport Officer (RPO) conference was held in Delhi. In a message to the conference, Jaishankar stated, "I am pleased to learn that in 2023, our ministry will provide 1.65 crore passport-related services to our citizens."

The minister said the year 2023 saw an appreciable annual growth of about 15 percent in passport and other related services. He said that the number of monthly applications submitted crossed the 14 lakh mark in 2023. The External Affairs Minister also stressed the need to leverage the power of modern technologies to further improve the experience of citizens.

The ministry has so far operated a network of 440 Post Office Passport Seva Kendras (POPSKs). With POPSK and the existing 93 Passport Seva Kendras (PSKs), there are a total of 533 passport application processing centers under 37 Regional Passport Offices (RPOs) in the country. Jaishankar praised the passport distribution program, calling it one of the most successful and commendable models of efficient service delivery by the Government of India.