)
IT major Tata Consultancy Services today said that it has processed 6.7 lakh passport applications in Maharashtra last year and about five lakh passports were already issued.
The services of TCS have been hired by the Ministry of External Affairs for its passport issuing work in the state.
"Opened to the public in the first half of 2012, the Passport Seva Kendras (PSK) in Maharashtra in just about a year have processed 6.7 lakh applications, of which close to 5 lakh passports have already been issued," the company said in a statement.
There has been a "significant increase" in the volume of passport applications processed in Maharashtra and there are efforts to fasten the process by making the police verification faster, Mukesh Pardeshi, joint secretary (Passport Seva Project) and Chief Passport Officer, was quoted as saying in the statement.
"We are working with all, including the police establishment to ensure that the whole process of verification is made faster," he said.
There are four regional passport offices and seven PSKs in the state.
