The services of Passport Service Kendra will now be available at all Head Post Offices across the country, it was announced on Tuesday.
"Every district Head Post Office (HPO) will extend the services of Passport Seva Kendra," Minister of State for External Affairs V.K. Singh told the media.
"People will not have to go out of their districts and all the work related to passports will be executed in the post offices," he said.
Singh spoke in the presence of Minister of State for Telecommunication Manoj Sinha. This is the first time the External Affairs Ministry will share the powers it has under the Passport Act with another ministry.
The pilot project for this joint venture between the External Affairs Ministry and the Department of Post will be inaugurated on Wednesday at the HPO at Mysuru in Karnataka and at Dahod in Gujarat.
"After the success of the pilot project, in the next two or three months we will expand it to other HPOs. Slowly, we will try to cover HPOs in every district," Singh added.
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Efforts are on to extend this project to maximum number of districts this year.
"In the first phase, 38 districts will be covered," said minister Sinha.
He said the staff of the postal department would be trained by the External Affairs Ministry.
The country now has 89 Passport Seva Kendras -- as extended arm of the 38 Passport Offices.
--IANS
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