India: Government planning to introduce e-passports this year

Union Minister of State for External Affairs (MoS) V Muraleedharan has stated that the government is planning to issue e-passports to its citizens, starting in 2022-23. His remarks came while replying to a question in Rajya Sabha on the government's plans for the issuance of e-passports in the calendar year 2022 and its details.

Referring to this, the MoS elaborated that the e-passport will be a combined paper and electronic passport, which will come with an embedded Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) chip, and antenna embedded as an inlay in the back cover.
Muraleedharan added that the passport's critical information will be stored in the chip, and also printed on its data page. The characteristics of the chip and document have been specified in International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) document 9303, added Muraleedharan.

The Union Minister also added that the Ministry of External Affairs has entrusted the National Informatics Centre (NIC) in the context of the issuance of e-passports with the technical responsibilities.
He added that the e-passports will be produced by the India Security Press, Nashik, which has issued letters of intent for the procurement of 4.5 crore ICAO-compliant electronic chips along with its operating system.

The MoS further informed the upper house that sample e-passports are currently being tested, while full-scale manufacture and issuance will commence with the completion of the technical infrastructure and eco-system.

1. When did biometric passports start in India?
   The first e-passport with biometric details in India was issued to former President Pratibha Patil in 2008.
2. What data is stored on ePassport?
   ePassports contain a contactless integrated circuit (i.e. chip) that allows the document to securely store the holder's biometric and biographic data.
3. What are the features of e-passport?
   An e-Passport contains an electronic chip, which holds the same information that is printed on the passport's data page.