Centre has decided to set up 13 Passport Seva Kendras (PSKs) in Kerala, it is the highest number in any state. Out of a total of 77 PSKs planned for across the country, 13 will be in Kerala. PSKs conceived within the Passport Seva Project is one of the most critical e-Governance projects under the National e-Governance Plan. It was in view of the heavy rush of passport applications that the Centre decided to set up these PSKs that would deliver all passport-related services in a time-bound manner.
Tatkal passports within the Passport Seva Project can now be issued on the same day of receiving applications, passports applied under the normal category would be issued by the PSKs within three days after verification, which at present, takes about 45 days time.
Of the 13 PSKs planned in Kerala, three would be under the Thiruvananthapuram Regional Passport Office (RPO), four each under Ernakulam and Kozhikode RPOs and two under Malappuram RPO. Some of these PSKs would also come up in districts where there is no RPO. The existing 37 RPOs, including the four in Kerala, would be upgraded as part of the project. The number of counters at the RPOs would also be increased from 350 to 1,250. The system also envisages setting up a call-centre to deal with public grievances.
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has been appointed as the service provider for the Rs 1,000-crore-project which also entail online application for passport and upgrading of existing RPOs. The services offered at the PSKs include accepting and scrutinising applications, collecting fee, scanning documents and taking photographs.
