IT Correspondent
Mumbai, Jan 10:
The Union Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has signed an agreement for second phase of the Passport Seva Programme (PSP-V2.0) with M/s. Tata Consultancy Services Limited (TCSL), and has appointed the firm as the service provider for the project.
The PSP-V2.0 is a continuation and enhancement of PSP-V1.0, an e-Governance instrument, which introduced unprecedented transformation in delivery of passport related services to citizens. The focus was on timely, transparent, more accessible and reliable platform, accessed by citizens in a comfortable environment through streamlined processes and a committed, trained and motivated workforce.
Under the agreement, the TCSL, will be managing the project for another nine-and-a-half years, which can be extended for two more years. The deal as per new agreement, is expected to be in the range of Rs 6,000-8,000 crore.
The project design has ensured that the support functions like citizen interface, technology backbone, call centres, training and change management are provided by the Service Provider, and the Government has continued to exercise all sovereign and security related function in the passport issuance process, an MEA statement said.
The number of public dealing offices has increased across the country. Ministry is working towards opening of a Seva Kendra in every Lok Sabha Constituency where there is no Passport Seva Kendra (PSK) or Post Office Passport Seva Kendra (POPSK). As on date 93 PSKs, 428 POPSKs and 36 Passport Offices are operational in the country. This was Program was recently connected to over 176 Indian Missions / Posts through Global Passport Seva Programme (GPSP), providing seamless delivery of passport services to Indian diaspora.
The key elements of PSP-V 2.0 include: setting up of a state-of-art digital ecosystem, process overhauling and integration among various stakeholders and database, improving citizen interface, upgrading technology, adopting best practices and strengthening data security. Security aspects, including strategic assets such as Data Centres, Database and the Application Software will be owned by the Government.
There would be strict access controls across the system, incorporating biometrics. On the digital front, the programme envisages a Data Centre, Disaster Recovery Centre and Government Secure Repository networked to all PSKs/POPSKs, Passport Offices and also to Indian Missions/Posts aboard, an electronic file system for passport processing running across the passport issuance ecosystem and 24x7x365 monitoring and supervision through state-of-art Network Operation Centre (NOC) and Security Operation Centre (SOC).
Recognizing the need to continually improve the quality of Government to Citizen (G2C) services and the mantra of Good Governance via IT and digital media, the Passport Seva Programme would be embarking on technology upgrade with the use of Biometrics, Artificial Intelligence, Advance Data Analytics, Chat-Bot, Auto-response, Natural Language Processing, Cloud Enablement.
The issuance of e-Passports for enhanced customer satisfaction, increased security and next level of citizen experience will also be unveiled in the upgraded PSP-V 2.0. The Passport Seva Programme is a citizen centric e-Governance platform. The attributes of being responsive, caring, considerate, and transparent would continue to be the guiding principle of the Passport Seva Programme.
The proposed e-passports will have chips embedded in them. The MEA is planning to move to e-passports. The plan is to introduce a chip in the passport booklet which can make data more secure, and it’ll make it easier to read as well.
Launched in 2008, the Passport Seva Program saw TCS transforming the delivery of passport-related services, by digitising the processes, and setting global benchmarks in timeliness, transparency, and reliability.
