New Delhi, August 14: The Government of India will start issuing e-passports embedded with electronic microprocessor chip from 2021, according to an Economic Times report. The government is currently selecting an agency that will set up the IT infrastructure to carry out the mega project. Till now, the passports that are issued are printed on booklets.

India had already issued 20,000 official and diplomatic electronic-passports on a trial basis, the report said. It will be based on the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards. The introduction of e-passports will also make passports difficult to forge. How to Apply for Passport Online via Passport Seva Mobile App: Schedule Appointment to Track Status & More.

The report suggested that e-passports will be issued in all 36 passport offices in India after the components of personalisation system are inducted in the existing issuance system.

A dedicated IT system to be set up at Data Centres at Chennai and Delhi for issues 10,000-20,000 passports per hour and one lakh per day. The National Informatics Centres (NIC) which is working with the External Affairs Ministry has sent a Request for Proposal (RFP) for selection of an agency for setting up IT infrastructure.

"It will require a completely dedicated set-up and processes for e-passport document issuance. The e-passport has international ramifications because of its usage as credible identity document issued by any sovereign country, it is absolutely necessary to keep track of any security and quality issues," the report added quoting RFP.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 14, 2020 05:36 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).