E-Passport | 17 May 2025

Source: IE 

The Ministry of External Affairs has begun issuing e-passports in several cities under the Passport Seva Programme (PSP) 2.0, aimed at modernizing and securing travel documentation. 

• Traditional passports remain valid, and conversion to e-passports is optional and gradual. 

E-Passport:  

• About: An ePassport is a combined paper and electronic passport with a  Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) chip and an antenna embedded as an inlay of passport that contains the personal particulars and biometric information of the passport holder.  
  • The ePassport will be visually identifiable as a small additional gold colour symbol printed below the front cover of the passport. 
• Advantages: 
  • Faster identity verification with secure storage of biometric and personal data.  
  • The secure digital signature safeguards the passport against forgery and fraudulent activities such as fake passports. 
  • Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) in epassport forms the security foundation by protecting sensitive information and ensuring the authenticity and integrity of personal and biometric data on the chip. 
    • PKI helps verify the origin of the data and prevents unauthorized tampering or copying. 

Passport Seva Programme (PSP) 2.0: 

• PSP 2.0, operational from 2024, is an expansion and improvement of the PSP which was launched in 2010. 
• PSP 2.0 is a tech-driven digital transformation ensuring transparent, reliable, and integrated passport services. 
• By March 2025, e-passports were issued in cities like Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, and others, with Chennai issued over 20,700.