E-passport in India: Government of India upgrades passport system to next generation e-passport Has started rolling out. This new Passport will come with advanced technology and high-level security features, including interlocking microletters, relief tints and RFID chip. According to officials, “Encrypted biometrics data and other essential information will be stored securely in this chip.”
Under the government scheme, all new passports issued now will be e-passports. At the same time, the non-electronic passports that already exist will remain completely valid till their expiry date. The Ministry of External Affairs has clarified that the e-passport system will be implemented in the entire country by June 2025.
The new e-passport will have a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) chip and antenna, in which the user’s photograph, fingerprint and biometric information will be stored in encrypted form. With the help of contactless data-reading technology, verification at the immigration counter will become faster and easier than ever. According to officials, due to these high-tech features, there will be a huge reduction in cases of fraud, passport tampering and duplicate passports. The Ministry of External Affairs has so far issued more than 80 lakh e-passports in India and more than 60,000 e-passports through Indian missions abroad.
A senior official of the Ministry of External Affairs said, “The new system will be very effective in preventing passport fraud. If a person tries to get two passports, the existing system will immediately capture his record.” This will ensure that a person has only one valid passport in his name, thereby eliminating security risks to a great extent.
Currently, 37 Regional Passport Offices, 93 Passport Seva Kendras and 451 Post Office Passport Seva Kendras are operating under the Passport Seva Program Version 2.0 (PSP V2.0), launched from May 2025. Its global version GPSP V2.0 has also been launched on 28 October 2025, the aim of which is to provide faster and better passport services to Indians settled abroad.
The new passport system will come with AI chatbot, voice bot application and advanced security protocols. It will be linked to DigiLocker, Aadhaar and PAN for document verification, making the process more transparent, faster and secure.
