Indian Security Press Nashik is printing 70 lakh e-passport blank booklets in the first year. This press has got an order to print 4.5 crore chip passports.
With the new passport with 41 advanced features, the immigration process will be completed within minutes at airports in 140 countries that
comply with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards. In appearance it will be similar to the present passport booklet. Only on one of the pages in the middle of the booklet will there be a radio frequency identification chip and a small foldable antenna at the end.The chip will have our biometric details and all those things which are already there in the booklet. The scheme called Passport Service Program 2.0 (PSP) is yet to be launched. The scheme will be implemented in a phased manner so that there is no rush at the centers for chipped passports. For this, passport centers are being technically upgraded.
| Old passport | e-passport | |
| Which data | Details of thumb impression, photo name, date of birth and other documents. | Photo, fingerprints, geometric image of face, eyes, digital signature etc. |
| Data store | Booklets contain a maximum of 60 pages. then re-issue | The 64 KB data store in the chip will last forever. |
| Verification | Somewhere it takes half an hour and somewhere up to an hour. | Time will be halved. Verification in minutes. |
| Fees | Rs. 1500 to 5500 | Fee not decided yet. |
| Technique | Not in booklet. | 41 Advance Features |
| Duplicate | Duplicate booklets are now made. | Duplicate passports will not be able to be made from the chip. |
| Data security | Data remains unsecure if booklet is stolen | Digital lock will remain in the chip, change is impossible. |
| Life | Fear of damaging booklet pages by water, fire. | All the information in the e-chip will be safe for life. |
How do I get an e-passport – After the launch of PSP 2.0, all passports that will be made will be chip ones.
Even if the old booklet is empty – you can apply for a new one by submitting the old passport at the designated centre.
What will you get on re-issue – If you get the old booklet re-issued after the launch, you will get only e-passport.
