Saurabh Shukla for MT. New Delhi, February 17, 2013
The days of the tormenting touts and tiresome queues in passport offices may soon be pass. To make it easier to get a passport, the government is now planning an online payment facility for various passport services . Once in place, the E-gateway will make it easier for applicants to pay for a new passport through a credit card, debit card or even net banking.
Officials say that several regional passport offices, have witnessed cases of fake appointments or touts managing to secure bulk appointments, depriving the genuine applicants of a chance to get any appointments.
"The whole idea of online appointments is in place to weed out touts but applicants have been complaining that the appointments are not available and they have to run from pillar to post to manage one. It means that while the people suffer, touts continue to flourish. We are working to eliminate that," an MEA source told MT.
The days of the tormenting touts and tiresome queues in passport offices may soon be pass. To make it easier to get a passport, the government is now planning an online payment facility for various passport services . Once in place, the E-gateway will make it easier for applicants to pay for a new passport through a credit card, debit card or even net banking.
Officials say that several regional passport offices, have witnessed cases of fake appointments or touts managing to secure bulk appointments, depriving the genuine applicants of a chance to get any appointments.
The External Affairs Ministry's move to streamline its main people-connect function, the passport services, is expected to roll out after the Union Budget in March this year. It is aimed at throwing the touts , hanging around passport offices, out of business and saving the people the trouble of standing in queues for hours.
For the new payment gateway, the MEA is working with Tata Consultancy Services and it will be jointly implemented by them.
Under the new people-friendly plan, the applicants can make the payment while making an appointment for the passport online.
For the new payment gateway, the MEA is working with Tata Consultancy Services and it will be jointly implemented by them.
Under the new people-friendly plan, the applicants can make the payment while making an appointment for the passport online.
- Fee deposited online will be valid for one year.
- Facility of rescheduling appointments will, however, be allowed for a maximum of three times.
- Only when the applicants do not turn up all the three times will the fee paid by them be forfeited.
This is being done because many a time, people don't turn up for their appointments at the Passport Seva Kendra (PSK) and that slot goes waste as it can not be reallotted to any other applicant.
According to official estimates, currently, 30 per cent of those who book a passport appointment don't turn up at the scheduled time .
According to official estimates, currently, 30 per cent of those who book a passport appointment don't turn up at the scheduled time .
The Passport Seva Project was approved by the Union cabinet and launched "to deliver all passport-related services to the citizens in a timely, transparent, more accessible, reliable manner and in a comfortable environment through streamlined processes and committed, trained and motivated workforce."
The reform is part of an e-governance initiative of the national e-governance plan of the UPA government.
No comments:
Post a Comment