Changes Announced to Indian Passport Procedures Posted Sep 24, 1999 The Law Office of Sheela Murthy, P.C. has learned that certain categories of passport applicants in India could be issued new passports within just 24 hours of submitting their applications! India's Foreign Secretary, Mr. Raghunath announced that this instant (or 'tatkal') procedure will be provided through the Central Passport Organization (CPO), and that the cost will be about Rs. 1,500 ( about $35) per passport application. This 24 hour turnaround time is indeed great news for certain categories of passport applicants. These categories include those working for the government or in the public sector, and those holding accreditation cards from the Press Information Bureau. These applicants have presumably already been verified by the police. The mandatory police verification for an additional review would take place subsequently in such cases. In order to speed the application process for regular passports, five offices of the CPO are due to open, three in Delhi and one each in Gurgaon and Faridabad. Forms may be submitted at these offices for Rs. 50 (a little over $1) per application. Each application would be sent to the Regional Passport Office, which would provide the passports directly to the applicants. Indications are that these services will eventually be available at the 27 other passport centers throughout the country. © The Law Office of Sheela Murthy, P.C.
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