Patna: In a significant step towards easing the passport issuance process, Bihar police is preparing to roll out chip-enabled passports while also reducing the police verification timeline to just 10 days. This development marks a crucial advancement in the state’s passport services, led by the Special Branch of Bihar Police.
According to Special Branch Additional Director General Sunil Kumar, the embedded chip in the new passports will store vital information, including immigration data, which can be accessed instantly by scanning. This is expected to streamline international travel and enhance security.
Until recently, police verification for passports in Bihar took up to 30 days, largely due to a manual, paper-based system. However, with the implementation of an online verification process, this was reduced to 12 days. Now, Bihar Police is aiming to cut this down even further to 10 days.
To achieve this target, 1,128 police stations across the state have been equipped with special digital tablets to expedite the verification process. This initiative is also expected to reduce the backlog of applications and improve service delivery, particularly in rural and semi-urban areas.
In recognition of these improvements, the Ministry of External Affairs previously awarded Bihar Police a Certificate of Recognition for efficient verification services.
