The ministry of external affairs has express plans to introduce a microchip-base e-passport. The ministry has been trying to do this. This will introduce new features and facilities in the passport service.
This will be a next-generation e-Passport for citizens in India.
The government is in the process of implementing the project.
An e-passport is an electronic passport.
It provides high-level confidentiality and practicality for keeping personal details, in addition to an electronic system that can be read by a chip that belongs to security offices.
Difference between Regular Passport and E-Passport
Almost all countries have machine-readable passports for citizens, which carry printed information on the identity page, also known as a data page.
They can be scan with an optical reader.
A digital passport is also the same as the traditional one.
The only addition is a chip that will carry the personal information of the passport holder with the travel details.
An e-Passport is more secure and comprises biometrics.
The chip is also expect to convey data at the airport counter within minutes and save time and hassle on the part of passengers and airport staff.
Microchip based E-Passport
The e-Passport will be the ICAO complainant.
Government has given its approval for the procurement of electronic contactless inlays for the manufacturing of e-Passports to Indian Security Press, Nashik.
The Indian government at present issues traditional booklets as passports for individuals who wish to travel abroad.
Traditional passports pose a risk of fraudulent activities, which e-passports can curb.
The chip embed in the passport booklet stores biographical information and has a digital security feature.
The chip has a unique digital signature of each country that can be verified using their signature.
The idea of e-Passport in India will come in 2017.
Since then, India has issue as many as 20,000 official and diplomatic e-passports on a trial basis.
