Ever wondered who prints your Indian passport? It was the Indian Security Press in Nasik that undertook this very critical task for every Indian national who sought this international document. As the demand grew, some other locations within India itself were also assigned to distribute the load. However, what happens when you are abroad and need one? You would have to apply for one in the closest Indian Consulate and await its arrival from India after a 2-3 week wait. Find more tips for Indian passport holders here.
Indian Passports Printed in the US
The good news for Indian citizens in the US is that now the Indian passports will be printed in the US itself. This would bring the entire process down to mere 48 hours. Besides, reducing the turnaround time, this will also simplify the process by keeping it domestic to the US. The new initiative called the Passport Seva Project (PSP) was launched in the Indian consulates of New York, Atlanta and Houston and aims to operationalize all Embassy/Consulates in the US during the course of next 15 days. Click here for a list of all Indian consulates in the US.
Until now, once the application was filed in a US consulate, the information would be sent to the Indian central database system for verification and approval, and the final printing. With the Passport Seva Project, the consulate database has been connected with the central database, which narrow the application process verification and approval even faster.
Other advantages of the Passport Seva Project are –
- Quicker service;
- Enhancing the experience of the applicants;
- Ushers-in standardization;
- Digital overhauling;
- End-to-end status tracking and
- Enhanced security.
So far under the PSP initiative, the consulates have successfully issued over 16,200 Indian passports this year. Follow these simple steps here if you are looking to apply for a new Indian passport or renew the old one.