RAJYA SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.4064
TO BE ANSWERED ON 07.04.2022
ISSUANCE OF E-PASSPORTS IN 2022
4064. SHRI NARAYANA KORAGAPPA:
Will the Minister of EXTERNAL AFFAIRS be pleased to state:
(a) whether the e-Passports issuance for citizens have been planned in the calendar year 2022; and
(b) if so, the details thereof ?
ANSWER
THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS
[SHRI V. MURALEEDHARAN]
(a) & (b) The Government is planning to issue e-passports to its citizens, starting in 2022-23. This will be a combined paper and electronic passport, with an embedded Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) chip and antenna embedded as an inlay in the back cover. 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.
For the objective of issuing e-passport, the Ministry has entrusted National Informatics Centre (NIC) with the technical responsibilities. The e-passports will be produced by the India Security Press, Nashik, which has issued letters of intent for the procurement of 4.5 crore ICAO-compliant electronic chips along with its operating system. Sample e-passports are currently being tested and the full-scale manufacture and issue will commence with the completion of the technical eco-system and infrastructure.