Now, Karnataka citizens will get passport in 10 days

[email protected] (CD Network)
October 17, 2016

Bengaluru, Oct 17: Here's good news for passport applicants in Karnataka. The Regional Passport Office is taking all necessary steps to ensure that the applicants get the passports within 10 days.

passport“From the time an applicant applies for a passport to passport delivery and completion of police verification, it should take about 10 days,” said P S Karthigeyan, regional passport officer-Karnataka.

"In September, we took an average of 13 days in Bengaluru and it was 25 days across the state. This is possible because of the mobile passport police app which was piloted first in Bengaluru with five police stations in May 2016. From August it has been extended to all police stations in Bengaluru," he said.

The app allows cops to download the digital copies of applications cleared by passport officers and upload the verification immediately from the field, thus reducing the time and paper use.

Karnataka has been second highest issuer of passports in 2015 after Lucknow—6.18 lakh passports issued in the calendar year. As on last Thursday, the RPO issued five lakh passports and hopes to issue 6.3 lakhs by the end of this year. Of the volume, Karthigeyan claims 45% applications come from Bengaluru alone.

"But we are not seeing a drastic increase in demand for passports as compared to 2013 and 2014. One of the reasons we think, may be, the penetration of passport holders in Karnataka is much higher than few other states like Lucknow," he added.

It has already reduced the wait period for one day for appointment slots, the officer claimed. Last year, it held 27 passport melas to expedite and resolve pending applications. This year, RPO Karnataka has already held seven camps and one more is being organised in Chitradurga on Saturday.

That is not it. Beginning October 13, the state RPO is also authorized to attest or apostille documents required for visa or other purposes by existing passport holders. The documents however, have to be submitted to four outsourced agencies—BLS International Services (Shivajinagar), VFS Global Services(Shivajinagar), IVS Global (Sheshadripuram) and Superb Enterprises (Infantry road).

"We have set up a attestation cell in the Koramangala headquarters of RPO where two senior passport officers will attest documents that must be originated and issued from Karnataka. Even if people living in other states have documents originating or issued from Karnataka, it will be attested. This will take two days," he said.

Ministry of external affairs has prescribed a fee of Rs 18 and Rs 20 for different types of documents and a fixed fee of Rs 150 to be paid to the outsourced agency.

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Rikaz
 - 
Monday, 17 Oct 2016

Wow Karnataka citizens.....I wish its true....

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Anusha Bhat | coastaldigest.com
July 24,2020

Mangaluru, Jul 24: Parents in Dakshina Kannada are urging the educational institutions to reduce fees at least by 75% as most of the infrastructure and resources are not being utilized due to online classes. 

“School campuses are now closed. Why we have to pay such a heavy fee when our children are not availing the facilities offered on campus?” asks a Sapna (name changed), a parent, whose two daughters study at a prestigious private school in Mangaluru.  

Even though some schools considered as small players have reduced fees, most of the “prestigious” institutions in the Mangaluru have so far refused to give any discount.

“Apart from paying school fees, now we have to invest in gadgets, internet connections and accessories required for online classes. School administration can use their infrastructure and facilities for other purposes as students are not utilizing them. Hence, they must give us maximum discount during this pandemic,” said another parent.  
 
On the other hand, many parents are facing a dire financial situation due to covid-19 lockdown – while some have suffered losses in their business some have lost their jobs.

Many parents have even approached the education department to ensure that they get a discount in fees from educational institutions, said Dakshina Kannada DDPI Malleswamy.

“We cannot do anything since a government circular has asked educational institutions not to hike fees, which they have not done, and reduce fees if possible, which will never happen. The department is acting against only those schools that forcefully collect fees,” the DDPI said.

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News Network
February 4,2020

Mangalore, Feb 4: Following the directions of the University Grants Commission (UGC) to use khadi for convocations and other events in universities and colleges, Mangalore University has decided to use khadi-silk for ceremonial robes.

The amendments to the statute governing convocations for conferring degrees were approved in the Academic Council meeting.

Mangalore University Registrar Prof A M Khan said on Tuesday that the colour of the gown of the chancellor will be rich dark red or vermilion and the ‘angavasthram’ will be of gold with blue border.

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coastaldigest.com news network
June 25,2020

Thiruvananthapuram, Jun 25: The government of Kerala under the leadership of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan is all set to launch the 'Kerala Dialogue' -- a debate series on new concepts and development models during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A series of visionaries including noted political thinker Noam Chomsky and Nobel-laureate economist Amartya Sen will join this unique initiative that is to be rolled out from Friday.

The debate series to be inaugurated by the CM will feature prominent personalities from various walks of life including scientists, philosophers, diplomats, economists, writers, journalists, activists, technocrats and people's representatives.

The first episode will have Chomsky, Sen and WHO Chief Scientist Dr Soumya Swaminathan speaking on 'Kerala - Future Paths of Development'. 

State Planning Board vice chairman VK Ramachandran and senior journalist N Ram would be the moderators. The first episode would be telecast through the Chief Minister's official social media accounts.

The coming episodes in the series will also be telecast in the same manner. The government is of the view that the Kerala Dialogue series can ensure debates and dialogues on sustainable and inclusive development on the lines of the Kerala model.

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Lau Kin Chi
 - 
Friday, 26 Jun 2020

I am from Global University for Sustainability, with its executive team based in Hong Kong 

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