Bihar Police Ranked No. 1 for Passport Checks, Honoured by MEA
This is a proud moment for Bihar as the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has awarded the “Certificate of Recognition” to the Bihar police. Bihar was even ranked No. 1 among those states who issue less than five lakh passports every year. The Police department is proving that its efficiency is not just limited to the enforcement of traditional law. The time taken to verify the passports has been reduced drastically (almost halved).
We have covered everything about the national recognition for passport verification in this article including district-wise data, and process improvement. You can use the following Table of Contents to navigate as per your preference:
Table of Contents
Bihar Police Honoured at National Conference
Te Passport Seva Project Conference held in Delhi, IG (Special Branch). In the conference, Minister of State for External Affairs, Pabitra Margherita, awarded the certificate to Rakesh Rathi. Mr. Rathi accepted the honour on the behalf of the Bihar police. Then a formal press release was held in which the achievement was confirmed. This is a historic moment for Bihar.
Special Branch ADG Sunil Kumar was also present in the press conference and he said that this is the first time that Bihar has got such a recognition, and it validates the efforts put and delivering public services efficiently.
Verification Time Reduced Drastically
Earlier, passport verification by the police could take as long as 30 days on average. But thanks to the digital shift in 2021, now the average processing time has come down to just 12 days. The Bihar Police also adopted new technological practices for making this happen. There aim is to bring it below 10 days in the near future.
ADG Sunil Kumar highlighted that this improvement is consistent over the last 5 years. In 2019, the average verification time was 18 days. But now only 12 days as the average duration indicate that the Bihar Police has been working very efficiently in this area. All the work was done in coordination with the Regional Passport Office, Patna.
Nearly 5 Lakh Applications Verified in 2024
If we talk about the numbers, a total of 4,78,805 passport applications were handled by the Bihar Police in 2024 alone. And this number has increased by 2.6 times over the last five years.
For managing the rising load efficiently, the Bihar Police was given more than ₹20 crore over five years for the verification work. These funds were used to streamline the processes, upgrade the digital infrastructure and train people across various districts.
Performance Varies Across Districts
There are variations in the efficiency of passport verification from district to district. For illustration, Bihar’s Siwan district has the slowest average processing time i.e. 20 days. But, on the other hand, Khagaria district of Bihar has set a new benchmark! In Khagaria, the average processing time is just 5 days.
This wide difference is primarily due to the number of applications. Districts like Siwan, Gopalganj, Patna, East Champaran, and West Champaran are highly populated and thus have a higher number of migrants which results in higher number of passport applications.
For decreasing this gap, the Bihar Police is planning to deploy more digital trained officers in such busy regions. The number of authorised officials will also be increased with digital signatures.
Chip-enabled Passports Boost Transparency
From 12 May 2024, the Bihar has officially launched ship-enabled passports where all the crucial data is embedded in a digital chip. This adds a layer of security and improves data management and verification. The Bihar Police is working efficiently towards such serious technological advancements.
With the adoption of such smart chip passports, Bihar has become one of the leading states with next-gen documentation processes. Existing passport holders can also upgrade under this initiative. Bihar Police with the passport office is making sure that the transition is smooth for all the applicants.
Conclusion
The “Certificate of Recognition” from the Ministry of External Affairs is a proud achievement for Bihar. It also got ranked as the number 1 state in the category of less than 5 lakh applications. This was possible due to the efforts of the Bihar Police in cutting down verification times and tackling crimes & frauds related to passports.
If you missed out report about setting up of a nuclear power plant in Bihar, you can access it here.
I’m a final-year engineering student with a deep interest in current affairs, politics, and international issues. Writing news is my part-time passion, where I focus on sharing credible and well-researched stories. Every article I publish is backed by verified sources and multiple levels of fact-checking to ensure accuracy and trustworthiness.
