RAJYA SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO- 3753
ANSWERED ON – 03/04/2025
CHIP-BASED E-PASSPORTS
3753. SHRI R. DHARMAR
Will the Minister of EXTERNAL AFFAIRS be pleased to state :-
(a) the details of the chip-based e-passports introduced by Government, including their features, benefits, and the current status of their implementation;
(b) the timeline for nationwide rollout of chip-based e-passports, and the States or regions where they have already been made available;
(c) the steps being taken to ensure the security and privacy of personal data stored in chip-based e-passports;
(d) the estimated number of chip-based e-passports issued so far within Tamil Nadu; and
(e) whether the introduction of chip-based e-passports is expected to improve immigration and border control processes, and if so, the specific improvements expected in terms of speed, accuracy, and security?
ANSWER
THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS
(SHRI KIRTI VARDHAN SINGH)
(a) to (c) The e-Passport is a combined paper and electronic passport, with an embedded Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) chip and antenna embedded as an inlay. The main benefit of the e-Passport is its enhanced ability to maintain the integrity of its data. Since the e-Passport has the data in printed form on the booklet, as well as encrypted in the chip, it makes it harder to forge.
The launch of e-Passport has commenced as a pilot project along with the rollout of the Passport Seva Program (PSP) Version 2.0 on 1st April 2024. Currently, Regional Passport Offices at Nagpur, Bhubaneswar, Jammu, Goa, Shimla, Raipur, Amritsar, Jaipur, Chennai, Hyderabad, Surat, Ranchi are issuing e-Passports to Indian citizens. More passport offices will be issuing e-passports to Indian citizens.
(d) The issuance of e-Passport in Tamil Nadu has commenced on 03 March 2025 at Regional Passport Office, Chennai and as on 22nd March 2025, a total of 20,729 e-Passports have been issued within Tamil Nadu.
(e) e-Passport would facilitate the ease of travel for Indian citizens by enabling automated identity verification processes and making their interface with immigration authorities easier.