Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced that e-passports will be issued in the years 2022-23 to ease international travel. Sitharaman made the announcement while she presented the Union Budget in Parliament.
The Finance Minister said that the issuance of e-passports will be rolled out in 2022-23 as it will make the process easier and more transparent for both the government and the travelers. The e-passports will use Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) and biometrics for identity verification.
The concept of e-passport is not new and the idea was first announced by S Jaishankar in his first address in 2019 as foreign minister.
Sanjay Bhattacharya, secretary in the ministry of external affairs, had recently informed that the new e-passport will secure biometric data, and also be in line with the standards of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO). At present, citizens are given printed booklets at the time when passports are issued.
The e-Passports booklets are embedded with an electronic chip to enhance security and to improve the level of identity verification, according to the government website on the smart card operating system.
The overall time required for issuing passports is set to reduce along with addressing current delays in police verification by ensuring information passes electronically from a centralized database to which all relevant authorities would connect.
The e-Passport will enhance the security of passports, eliminate duplication, eliminate data tampering, and will be used by border control authorities for monitoring the entry and exit of passengers.
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