The biometric passports would take some more time to become a reality in India and no time frame can be given for this, Chief Passport Officer Muktesh K Pardesi said here today.
"The ministry has invited international bids for chips. The Home Ministry also has a role to play to check the credentials of the companies as security is involved in it. Once it is done, the India Security Press would be able to finalise the design," Pardesi, a joint secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs, said.
A biometric passport is a combined paper and electronic passport containing biometric information that can be used to authenticate the identity of travellers. It uses contactless smart card technology, including a microprocessor chip and antenna embedded in the front, back or centre page of the passport. The passport's critical information is both printed on the data page of the passport and stored in the chip.
The currently standardised biometrics used for this type of identification system are facial, fingerprint and iris recognition.
Pardesi, who visited the Passport Seva Kendra in Shimla set up in June last year, said biometric passports have so far been issued only to diplomats and some government high-ups in India.
"We wanted to launch biometric passport system last year and had started collecting biometric details of applications also but it could not be achieved and I cannot give any time limit even now," he said.
Pardesi said 73.8 lakh citizens were issued passports last year and around 85 lakh are likely to get their passports this year.
He said 77 PSKs became functional in India since 2012 to supplement the 38 existing passport offices.
He said the highest number of 13 PSKs were opened in Kerala, where nine lakh people apply for passports every year.
"In Shimla, 20,000-25,000 passports are issued in a year, but in states like Andhra Pradesh the number is around seven lakh per year," he said.
