V Muraleedharan, Union Minister of State for External Affairs (MoS), has announced that the government intends to begin issuing electronic passports to its residents in 2022-23. His statements came in response to a query in the Rajya Sabha on the government’s plans for the issuing of electronic passports in the calendar year 2022, as well as the specifics of those plans.
This is in accordance with the MoS’s explanation that the e-passport will be a hybrid paper and electronic passport that will have an integrated Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) chip and antenna inserted as an inlay in the rear cover.
Muraleedharan went on to say that the vital information included in the passport would be saved in the chip and also written on the data page. As Muraleedharan points out, the properties of the chip and document are stated in International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) document 9303, which is available online.
The Union Minister also said that the National Informatics Centre (NIC) has been entrusted with technical duties in the framework of the issuing of e-passports by the Ministry of External Affairs.
His statement continued, “The India Security Press in Nashik will be producing the e-passports.” The India Security Press has issued letters of intent for the acquisition of 4.5 billion ICAO-compliant electronic chips, as well as its operating system.
A supplementary statement from the Ministry of State (MoS) to the upper chamber said that sample e-passports are presently being evaluated, with full-scale production and issuance to begin after the completion of the technological infrastructure and eco-system.