<p>Passport applicants who wish to make use of the walk-in facility at the Passport Seva Kendras (PSKs) have another reason to cheer. <br /><br /></p>.<p>They can now register at BangaloreOne centres to receive an Application Reference Number (ARN), which is mandatory to apply for passport-related services. <br /><br />Addressing a press conference on Tuesday, acting Passport Officer L Madan Kumar Reddy said, “We have been receiving a lot of complaints, where people who are not familiar with using computers or illiterate are being fleeced by unauthorised people simply for registering on the website and generating an ARN. With this facility, we hope that the problem will be addressed.” <br /><br />Complaints have been received where applicants have alleged that they have been charged as much as Rs 2,000 per application, simply to enter details of the passport application online and generate an ARN.<br /><br />The service offered by BangaloreOne is expected to cost Rs 25 per application and is likely to take off in the next 10 days. The same facility will be offered at KarnatakaOne centres as well. <br /><br />Once the ARN is generated, applicants can walk into any of the PSKs in the State, two in Bangalore, one in Mangalore and one in Hubli-Dharwad, to apply for these services. <br /><br />The walk-in facility was introduced in PSKs last year, as citizens complained about the unavailability of appointments online. <br /><br />At present, regular applicants have to register online and take an appointment to visit the PSKs, but there are certain categories that can avail a walk-in option between 9.30 am and 11 am, from Monday to Friday. <br /><br />These categories include senior citizens, physically disabled, children below 15 years of age, those seeking Police Clearance Certificate and those wanting the deletion of Emigration Check Required status from their passports. Since even the walk-ins have to register online and generate a ARN for reference at the Passport Office, constant complaints of exploitation have existed.<br /><br />Not only will the BangaloreOne centres run by the Department of e-Governance be registering the applications, but will also advice the applicants on the documents they will have to present at the PSKs. Sources in the e-Governance Department said the service would be initially introduced in the bigger BangaloreOne centres. At present, there are a total of 90 BangaloreOne centres and 38 KarnatakaOne centres in Mysore, Mangalore, Gulbarga, Tumkur, Davangere, Bellary, Belgaum, Shimoga and Hubli-Dharwad. <br /><br />In fact, the e-Governance Department is also considering sending SMS alerts to applicants, if any discrepancy in the information provided or in the data entry is noted. <br /><br />One of the biggest problems facing the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) since the implementation of the new passport services with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) was its inaccessibility to the computer illiterate. The new system relies entirely on registering and taking an appointment online and does not entertain physically filled application forms.<br /><br />More security<br /><br />Passport Officer Madan Kumar is planning to introduce live streaming of the feed from CCTV cameras installed at the PSKs. <br /><br />Noting that his office was sending a proposal to the Centre in this regard, Kumar said the live feed could be monitored at the Passport Office, so that unauthorised agents and touts approaching passport applicants would be spotted immediately. <br /><br />Even though no agents have been authorised to apply for passports on others’ behalf, people still continue to fall prey to them, he said. <br /><br />“Each PSK already has 12-15 CC TV cameras installed and we will have a few more focusing on entry and exit points,” Kumar said.</p>
<p>Passport applicants who wish to make use of the walk-in facility at the Passport Seva Kendras (PSKs) have another reason to cheer. <br /><br /></p>.<p>They can now register at BangaloreOne centres to receive an Application Reference Number (ARN), which is mandatory to apply for passport-related services. <br /><br />Addressing a press conference on Tuesday, acting Passport Officer L Madan Kumar Reddy said, “We have been receiving a lot of complaints, where people who are not familiar with using computers or illiterate are being fleeced by unauthorised people simply for registering on the website and generating an ARN. With this facility, we hope that the problem will be addressed.” <br /><br />Complaints have been received where applicants have alleged that they have been charged as much as Rs 2,000 per application, simply to enter details of the passport application online and generate an ARN.<br /><br />The service offered by BangaloreOne is expected to cost Rs 25 per application and is likely to take off in the next 10 days. The same facility will be offered at KarnatakaOne centres as well. <br /><br />Once the ARN is generated, applicants can walk into any of the PSKs in the State, two in Bangalore, one in Mangalore and one in Hubli-Dharwad, to apply for these services. <br /><br />The walk-in facility was introduced in PSKs last year, as citizens complained about the unavailability of appointments online. <br /><br />At present, regular applicants have to register online and take an appointment to visit the PSKs, but there are certain categories that can avail a walk-in option between 9.30 am and 11 am, from Monday to Friday. <br /><br />These categories include senior citizens, physically disabled, children below 15 years of age, those seeking Police Clearance Certificate and those wanting the deletion of Emigration Check Required status from their passports. Since even the walk-ins have to register online and generate a ARN for reference at the Passport Office, constant complaints of exploitation have existed.<br /><br />Not only will the BangaloreOne centres run by the Department of e-Governance be registering the applications, but will also advice the applicants on the documents they will have to present at the PSKs. Sources in the e-Governance Department said the service would be initially introduced in the bigger BangaloreOne centres. At present, there are a total of 90 BangaloreOne centres and 38 KarnatakaOne centres in Mysore, Mangalore, Gulbarga, Tumkur, Davangere, Bellary, Belgaum, Shimoga and Hubli-Dharwad. <br /><br />In fact, the e-Governance Department is also considering sending SMS alerts to applicants, if any discrepancy in the information provided or in the data entry is noted. <br /><br />One of the biggest problems facing the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) since the implementation of the new passport services with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) was its inaccessibility to the computer illiterate. The new system relies entirely on registering and taking an appointment online and does not entertain physically filled application forms.<br /><br />More security<br /><br />Passport Officer Madan Kumar is planning to introduce live streaming of the feed from CCTV cameras installed at the PSKs. <br /><br />Noting that his office was sending a proposal to the Centre in this regard, Kumar said the live feed could be monitored at the Passport Office, so that unauthorised agents and touts approaching passport applicants would be spotted immediately. <br /><br />Even though no agents have been authorised to apply for passports on others’ behalf, people still continue to fall prey to them, he said. <br /><br />“Each PSK already has 12-15 CC TV cameras installed and we will have a few more focusing on entry and exit points,” Kumar said.</p>
