RPO Hyderabad set to shift these Passport Seva Kendras

Move aimed at catering to more number of applicants thereby further reducing appointment cycle

Hyderabad: The Regional Passport Office (RPO) Hyderabad, is set to shift its Passport Seva Kendras (PSKs), including Tolichowki and Ameerpet centres, to a better location besides enhancing the availability of the appointment thereby further reducing the appointment cycle this year.

Addressing a press conference here on Friday, Regional Passport Officer J Snehaja said two or three PSKs would be shifted to better locations in the first half of the year to cater to more applicants as the number of appointments would be enhanced.

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The appointment cycle at PSKs for normal appointments has been reduced from 22 working days in 2023 to an average of six-eight working days in 2024.

With Tatkal, the appointments were now available working 1-5 days working days, while at most Post Office Passport Seva Kendras (POPSKs) appointments were available within a week.

“We are working to further reduce the normal appointment cycle to 5 to 7 working days this year,” she said.

The RPO Hyderabad, which operates five PSKs and 14 POPSKs processed an average of 4,200 applications daily and handled approximately 9.02 lakh applications in 2024. These include passport issuance, police clearance certificates and other related services.

Tatkal passports were being delivered within 1-3 working days, while normal passports take about five to seven working days, excluding police verification time, she said.

To celebrate the milestone of 75 years of the Indian Constitution, the RPO Hyderabad launched a special edition envelope, which was being used for passport dispatches as a tribute to the Constitution’s enduring significance.

The Ministry of External Affairs was in the process of launching an e-chip passport and piloting has already been under way in Nagpur and Bhubaneswar, she said, adding that soon it would be launched across the country in a phased manner after receiving necessary certification.

In 2023, over 10,000 emails were responded to and grievances were addressed in 1-3 working days. In addition, over 30,000 applicants availed services of the walk-in facility for the inquiry appointment system on Thursdays.

The most common issues with the applicants have been improper documents before applying for the appointment, she added.