With millions of Indians going abroad every year, the passport has become an extremely important document. Keeping it updated with new security measures hence is a major responsibility of the government. In late June, on the occasion of Passport Seva Diwas, S. Jaishankar, the minister of External Affairs announced that his ministry has begun operations on the manufacture of e-passports on a priority basis. Work on this software technology is being undertaken by IIT-Kanpur and the National Informatics Centre.

The e-passport will have better quality paper, better printing and be enabled with advanced security features. The personal details of the holder, such as the photograph, fingerprints and information of around 30 international visits and movements, will be digitally stored in a chip which can be read in seconds. In case the passport is tampered with, the system with reject its authentication. It is also designed in a way that the data present on the passport cannot be wiped from a remote location. The implementation of this technology will make the immigration process smoother and save hours of precious time.  

These chip-fitted e-passports will first be issued to diplomats and officials and then to the general public. By adopting this agenda, India will enter the ranks of about 120 other nations, including the US and UK who use similar technology.