It is possible now that you do not have to travel far enough to make a passport because the government has come up with a plan to open a passport centre within a radius of 50 kms. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Saturday announced the launch of 149 new Post Office Passport Seva Kendra (POPSK). This will be in addition to the 86 POPSK declared by the Ministry of External Affairs in the first phase.
This is an initiative launched by the Ministry of External Affairs and the Department of Posts jointly. Sushma said that after coming to power, the NDA government has opened 16 passport services centres and given priority to the North-Eastern states. He said that since coming to power in May 2014, the NDA government had put together a total of 251 passport service centres and POPSKs. Earlier, there were 77 passport service centres in the country.
The minister said that when she took charge of the ministry, she realised that ‘proximity’ is the biggest obstacle in applying for a passport. She said, “We have set a goal that no one has to travel more than 50 kms to make a passport. She said that in the third phase more POPSK would be opened.