India To Issue e-Passports Soon; Know What The Difference Will Be

New Delhi: India will soon be issuing e-passports to its citizens, most likely from the year 2022-23.

Union Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan provided the information in Rajya Sabha on Thursday while responding to a question on the Central government’s plans to issue e-passports during the current calendar.

Explaining how an e-passport will work, the minister told ANI: “The passport’s critical information will be printed on its data page as well as stored in the chip. The characteristics of the document and the chip are specified in International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) document 9303.”

E-passports will use Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) and biometrics to verify identity of the person.

Personal data of passport holders will be digitally signed and encoded in the chip which will be embedded in the passport.

The e-passports will be manufactured at India Security Press (ISP), Nashik. Letters of Intent (LoIs) have already been issued for 4.5 crore chips.

Such e-passports will ensure smooth and quick passage through immigration counters all round the world.

Manufacture of e-passports will commence after the process of testing samples is completed.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had said during the Parliament’s Budget session in February that the Centre will start issuing e-passports in 2022-23.