Over 7% Indians issued passports between 2014-2022

Rules related to issuance of passports were very strict earlier

Over 7 per cent of thosee living in India, or 9.5 crore Indians were issued passports between 2014 and 2022, data from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) shows.

The number is expected to cross the 10-crore mark in the coming months.

Among states, Kerala and Maharashtra issued the highest number of passports—over 97 and 95 lakh each—constituting about 20 per cent of total passports issued in the same tiem period.

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Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Gujarat and Karnataka are among other states where the most passports were issued.

Even as the number of passport holders remains significantly low, obtaining passports has now become a smoother process.

The Centre's steps to ease the passport process such as increasing the number of Passport Seva Kendra (PSKs) across the country and maintaining data on issuance have made the process faster and easier. On an average, it now takes six days for a passport to be issued as against 21 days in 2015. Between 2015 and 2022, as many as 368 PSKs have been opened.

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It’s also pertinent to note that passports are also issued abroad at over 140 Indian missions. Till December 12, more than 1.1 crore passports were issued. Out of these, 10.5% were issued by these Indian missions. Incidentally, this is 36% more than what was issued in 2021 and 81.5% more than in 2020, which are notable for facing consequences of Covid.