Patna: The Ministry of External Affairs is set to open two new Post Office Passport Seva Kendras (POPSKs) in Bihar, further expanding passport services in the state. The new centers, located in Rajnagar (Madhubani) and Bakhra (Muzaffarpur), will become operational on March 22, according to officials from the Regional Passport Office in Patna.
With the addition of these two centers, Bihar will have a total of 37 passport service centers. Each of the new POPSKs will have the capacity to process up to 45 applications daily, though the actual number will depend on online appointments. For comparison, the passport center in Siwan handles up to 85 applications a day, while Gopalganj processes 55.
The central government aims to establish at least one passport service center in each of Bihar’s 40 Lok Sabha constituencies. This initiative is intended to make passport services more accessible, reducing the need for applicants to travel long distances to submit documents.
At POPSKs, passport applications are received and processed, while the verification of documents and issuance of passports is managed by the Regional Passport Office (RPO). Full-service Passport Seva Kendras, on the other hand, handle processing, verification, and issuance. Police verification typically takes 12 to 15 days, and applicants generally receive their passports within a month of applying.
