New Delhi, Tuesday 14 Oct 2008: Citizens can now get a new passport within three days of police verification, or on the same day under “tatkal” scheme, as the Ministry of External Affairs on Monday signed an agreement with Tata Consultancy Services.

Under the project, applicants will get new passports within three days of police verification while under the tatkal scheme the travel document will be made available to the applicant on the same day.

TCS, which bagged the Rs 1,000 core e-governance project, will open 77 new fully computerised Passport Seva Kendras across the country by January 2010.

The Government aims to nearly quadruple the number of passport counters to 1,250 from the current 345 and bring the entire process of issuing the travel document online. It also wants to cut down the waiting time to 45 minutes for an applicant.