Six New Passport Seva Kendras to be Opened in Gujarat

The Indian government will set up six new Passport Seva Kendras (PSKs) in Gujarat, taking the total number of such centers in the state to 25.

The Indian Ministry of External Affairs is going to open six new Passport Seva Kendras in Gujarat, in Amreli, Gandhinagar, Surendranagar, Sabarkantha, Surat and Patan districts, MJ Akbar, the Minister of State for External Affairs said in Gandhinagar on Aug. 30, PTI reported.

The decision was taken after the Gujarat government requested for new passport centers in the state, Akbar was quoted as saying by the news agency. The ministry has accepted the request and given the nod for the new PSKs. Gujarat currently has 19 passport centers.

“For 70 years there were five centers for passports in Gujarat. In the last four years this number has gone up to 19. With the opening of six new PSKs, the number of PSKs in Gujarat will be 25 soon,” said Akbar, according to the Times of India.

Various issues related to passports, consulates and the diaspora were discussed during the state outreach conference organized in Gandhinagar on Aug. 30. Addressing the conference, Akbar said that under the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Ministry of External Affairs was trying to build a bridge between Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) and citizens living in India because the government wants to involve NRIs in the process of nation building.

“Before 2014, Gujarat had only five such centres. After Modi ji became the PM, Gujarat received another 14 centers. Now, with approval for six more centers, the number will reach 25,” Pradeepsinh Jadeja, Gujarat Minister of State for Home, who also holds the NRI portfolio, was quoted as saying by PTI.

The new Passport Seva Kendras will be opened at existing head post offices, TOI reported, citing Ahmedabad’s regional passport officer Neelam Rani.

Post Office Passport Seva Kendra (POPSK) is an initiative by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and the Department of Posts (DoP), which utilizes the Head Post Offices (HPO) and post offices as the centers for delivery of passport related services to citizens of India.

The purpose of this collaborative initiative is to provide passport related services on a bigger scale and to ensure wider area coverage.

Passport Seva Kendras work as the extended arms of Passport Offices and render front-end services related to passport issuance. These centers cover functionalities from token issuance to granting of application for passport issue/re-issue and other services.