Police check for passport may take just 8 days in future

February 21, 2016

The humble passport is creating its own little revolution in governance in India. Like the landline telephone of yore, the acquisition of a passport signalled a rise in social status a few decades ago because you had jumped through several hoops to get it.passport

Over the past few years, Indians have found it easier to get a new passport or have one renewed at computerised seva kendras, which have taken some of the tension out of the exercise, and serve 50,000 people a day. The passport, like the Aadhar card, is writing its own governance script, and government departments are adapting to keep up.

By the end of 2015, 6.33 crore Indian citizens possessed valid passports, up from 5.19 crore in 2013. This week, the ministry of external affairs (MEA) expanded its footprint with a passport kendra in Arunachal Pradesh. "We now cover the entire country," says Muktesh Pardeshi, chief passport officer.

Appointed India's next ambassador to Mexico, Pardeshi has helmed the MEA's passport campaign for the past five years. Having spruced up the front end of the passport service system by tying up with TCS and boosting manpower, Pardeshi says they are now tackling the back end. The weakest link here is police verification, but it is also the most critical component of the passport issuance process.

We all know how tough that can get — a deadly cocktail of inefficiency and corruption. Last year, MEA and states held a brainstorming session to fix this. In the past months, technology, coercion and political push has succeeded in integrating 683 of 731 police districts in India with the passport system online.

This means police verification documents travel from passport offices to the police stations electronically, and return the same way. Police stations can no longer say, "document kho gaya" or no one was available to carry the papers. An e-trail shows how long the police station sat on it. This is very different from the days when you pleaded with the police station, or looked for someone who could "influence" them and found yourself funding a lot of "chai-paani" along the way.

Directors general of police in all the states have been provided with electronic dashboards to track progress, and pull up errant officials. In 2015, this brought the time taken for verification down to 34 days from 49 in 2013 despite the fact that passport applications shot by 40% across the country. This year, it is expected to come down to eight days. "We will soon bring J&K and Nagaland police districts within this ambit," Pardeshi said.

The revolution has been most visible in Uttar Pradesh. Over the past couple of years that the new system has been in practice, UP has jumped from issuing 6.5 lakh passports to 13 lakh passports a year. In 2015, UP, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Kerala issued more than 10 lakh passports each. At the five-lakh-mark are West Bengal, Telangana, Gujarat, Karnataka and Punjab, while the highest growth was seen in Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur and Tripura.

MEA has reduced the categories of passports that need pre-police verification, and is aiming for post-verification for the bulk of Indian citizens. So, if you submit your Aadhaar, voter and PAN cards and a signed affidavit, you can pick up your passport and travel, and get verified after you return.

By August 2015, MEA had completely integrated the Aadhaar database with the passport system. This has taken the passport issuance process closer to a biometric verification.
MEA is also pushing for the early rollout of the crime and criminal tracking and networking system (CCTNS), which will be able to verify if you have a criminal record.

But police verification can never be done away with, so the MEA has developed an app for the police. Constables will receive their assignments on the app, which is GPS-enabled, and they can take photographs, scan documents and mail them to their bosses.
Commissioners are equipped to assign services and check the verification before reverting to the RPO. The app is connected to an online SMS system which seeks instant citizen feedback, keeping policemen on their toes. Seems like it's time for everyone to fly.

Comments

Mohammed
 - 
Monday, 22 Feb 2016

Really sad that Inside passport office in Bangalore, they started imposing fines on poor people. The Last Counter officials dont know to talk Hindi, English, or Kannada in Bangalore Passport Office. They can talk only in Tamil. Recently My Relative who was labour was fined for Rs.5000/- & reason was untold. The lady officer who fined him was not ready to tell reason at all.
Really sad there is nobody inside the passport office to help poor people who want to go out of country for their livelihood. The first two counters inside the bangalore office are from TCS. The last counter is Ministry official who are so old, who cant even operate the computers perfectly. The ministry is misusing our Tax funds in wrong manner. The poor people are fined for no reason.

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
Media Release
March 12,2020

Manipal, Mar 12: Team WGSHA is proud to announce that the culinary museum in WGSHA has been listed in Limca Book of Records as India's First Living Culinary Arts Museum.

Limca Book of Records (LBR) is a catalogue of achievements made by Indians, at home and abroad in diverse fields of human endeavour. LBR is a celebration of exemplary exploits and recognizes accomplishments such as firsts, inventions, discoveries, honours, awards and the truly extraordinary.

Chef Thirugnanasambantham, Principal of WGSHA, while thanking MAHE and ITC Leadership for extending all support towards instituting this museum in Manipal and WGSHA, also appreciated and thanked all those who have directly or indirectly helped towards setting up this museum in Manipal.

"The process for WGSHA's culinary museum to make an entry into the popular Limca Book of Records started almost six months back and after validation by LBR recently, has been listed in the book of records. We are glad that we could be the first of its kind in such endeavour and we also hope to be in Guinness World Records soon", said Chef Thiru.

"We are indeed grateful to Michelin-starred Indian celebrity Chef Vikas Khanna, the founder and curator of this museum, who had this idea of establishing a culinary museum and donated thousands of kitchen tools and equipment worth millions of dollars to this museum for preserving the history of India's rich tradition of culinary arts and to educate the future generations. Chef Vikas Khanna, 'Distinguished Alumnus' of WGSHA, being very desirous of making such a museum in India, what better place it would be than in his own Alma Mater!", he said on the background of having the museum.

Chef Thiru mentioned that Udupi, popular for the famous 'Udupi Cuisine', and being a temple town, is adjacent to International University Town of Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE).

MAHE is home to thousands of international students and visitors. With a great heritage of Udupi, combined with the large number of Indian and International students residing in and around Manipal, it was very apt for the college to create a museum for today's Indian youth and the International visitors to understand the rich culinary heritage of India, through the priceless kitchen tools and equipment donated by Chef Vikas Khanna.

"Has placed WGSHA in the global culinary map and we are proud to have joined all such efforts to preserve the history of cuisines and cultures across the world", said Chef Thiru.

The culinary art academic block housing the museum was opened in April 2018, spread approximately over 25,000 sq ft and is shaped in the form of a giant pot very similar to the ones found in Harappa.

There are historical as well as regular household items such as plates made by the Portuguese in India, a 100-year-old ladle used to dole out food at temples and bowls dating to the Harappan era, an old seed sprinkler, an ancient Kashmiri tea brewer known as 'samovar', vessels from the Konkan, Udupi and Chettinad regions, apart from a large collection of rolling pins, utensils of all shapes and sizes, tea strainers of different types etc.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
July 10,2020

Bengaluru, Jul 10: Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) workers under the All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) on Friday held protests in different parts of Karnataka, demanding personal protective equipment (PPE) kits and a salary of at least Rs 12,000 per month.

According to Madhu Kumari, an ASHA worker from Kalaburgi, ASHA workers currently receive a salary of Rs 3,000 per month.

"Our demand is to increase our wages to at least Rs 12,000 per month. We have been making this demand for the last six months but we have not received any response from the authorities. We will not go back to work until we are given an appropriate response. We did not want to create a difficult situation but the government has given us no choice," Kumari told ANI.

Clad in their signature pink saris, the women were holding posters in their hands and raising slogans to demand appropriate salary for their work and the necessary equipment to protect themselves from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Farhana, an ASHA worker protesting in Shivamogga, said that the women have been making demands for PPE kits since June 30. "We have been taking care of COVID patients for the last few weeks but have not received adequate PPE kits. A few of us received some in the beginning but they were not enough. We are not even given hand sanitiser or masks to protect ourselves," she added.

"We have sent letters to the District Commissioner's Office and to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare but our pleas have gone unheard. We are protesting to get the attention of the concerned authorities," she added.

They also demanded that authorities to conduct their COVID-19 tests as they have to deal with patients infected with the virus.

Sajida, an ASHA worker in Kalaburagi said, "We are very stressed about the COVID situation. We take care of sick people day in and day out, but no one is there to take care of us. We want the government to conduct COVID tests for all ASHA workers in the state."

Comments

Angry bakth
 - 
Sunday, 12 Jul 2020

ASHA worker its better to sleep in home instead of working and risking your life, 3000 rupes is nothing...who can work home....government of indian is one of the namarad and currupt, you wont get any hike...

 

poor people will survive this COVID but not the rich currupt politician, let them die like dog

 

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
February 13,2020

Bengaluru, Feb 13: 'Karnataka Bandh' call given by various Kannada organisation demanding implementation of Sarojini Mahashi report for ensuring job reservation to local people (Kannadigas) in the Private and government organisation, including industries, evoked mixed response in the State on Thursday.

The Bandh call was given by the “Karnataka Sanghatanegala Okkoota”, comprising a few factions of “Karnataka Rakshana Vedike” (KRV) and was backed by Ola-Uber Cab Drivers’ Association, a few auto unions, farmers’ associations, street vendors association, trade unions and transporters’ associations.

Meanwhile, Airport Taxi Services also supported the Bandh which forced flight passengers to find it difficult in finding the transport for reaching their destination in time. Fortunately, BMTC bus services at Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) was available at the Airport.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.