Northeast gets passport seva mobile van to boost access in remote areas

The Ministry of External Affairs has launched the Passport Seva Mobile Van under the “Passport Seva Aapke Dwar” initiative, a move aimed at enhancing passport service accessibility across rural and remote areas of the Northeast.

The service was inaugurated by Dr. K.J. Srinivasa, IFS, Joint Secretary for the Passport Seva Project and Chief Passport Officer, at Gauhati University.

The mobile van service will be deployed to far-flung rural and remote areas, allowing citizens to easily submit their passport applications, thereby ensuring last-mile delivery of passport and its related services. 

At present, there are 6 Passport Seva Kendras and 19 Post Office Passport Seva Kendras covering 6 North East States under RPO Guwahati.

Dr. KJ Srinivasa said, “The mobile van is a one stop shop where applicants can complete all the processes of application submission”. He also added that one mobile van each is provided to all the 37 RPOs across the country for now and the same can be increased to 2 or 3 in due course. 

The initiative reaffirms the Ministry of External Affairs' commitment to making passport services more accessible, efficient and citizen friendly.

The launch programme was also attended by senior officers and officials from RPO Guwahati, TCS and Gauhati University.

During his visit, Dr. Srinivasa met and interacted with various stakeholders of passport and its related services including Assam DGP Harmeet Singh and ADGP of Assam, Hiren Chandra Nath as well as the CPMG, Col. Arvind Varma. He also inspected the RPO and PSK Guwahati.

Dr. Srinivasa also paid a courtesy call on Governor Laxman Acharya, and Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, briefing them on the successful passport issuance and delivery mechanisms of the Ministry.