Speed Post News Network
New Delhi : The Ministry of External affairs celebrated the completion of 50 years of the Passport Act 1967 as the 5th Passport Seva Divas and a conference of the Regional Passport Officers was held in New Delhi on June 22 & 23, 2017.
It was on June 24, 1967, that the Passport Act came into force. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Minister of State for Communications (Independent Charge) Manoj Sinha as well as Ministers of State for External Affairs Gen V K Singh and M J Akbar addressed the officers and released a Special Commemorative Stamp on this special event, according to a PIB release.
Senior officials of the ministry of External Affairs and other government departments beside 38 Passport officers and officials of service provider TCS attended the function where awards of excellence were presented to the best performing Passport Officers and Police Officers for best passport and verification services, according to the release.
Speaking at the event marking the completion of 50 years of Passport Act, 1967, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said, ” We have teamed up with the Department of Posts to utilize the Head Post Offices as Post Office Passport Seva Kendras (POPSK) to extend passport services to our citizens on a larger scale and for ensuring wider area coverage. We have decided to set up 235 POPSK in two phases – 86 in Phase-I and 149 in Phase-II. It is matter of satisfaction that 52 POPSK identified in Phase-I have already been operationalized. As a part of our simplification drive, we have permitted submission of several new documents as proof of date of birth and removed several Annexes to the Passport Rules.”