Online passport portals to remain shut for 5 days; all appointments to be rescheduled

The online portal for passport applications will remain shut for the next five days, the Narendra Modi government announced.

This is due to a maintenance exercise and during this time, no new appointments can be scheduled and appointments made earlier will be rescheduled.

The message on the Passport Seva Portal reads "Passport Seva portal will be down for technical maintenance from 29th August 2024, Thursday 20:00 hrs IST to 2nd September, Monday 06:00 hrs IST. System will not be available during this period for citizens and for all MEA/RPO/BOI/ISP/DoP/Police Authorities. The already booked appointments for 30th August 2024 will be suitably rescheduled and informed to applicants."

This is a routine procedure, as per the External Affairs Ministry. A source from there told NDTV, "For rescheduling of appointments, we always have contingency plans. The maintenance activity for a public centric service (like Passport Seva Kendras) is always planned in advance so that no inconvenience is meted out to public. So rescheduling an appointment will not be a challenge."

People use the Passport Seva portal to make appointments at designated centres across India in order to apply for a new passport, or to renew one. Applicants, on the day of the appointment, must provide their documents for verification upon reaching the passport centres.

After this, there is a police verification stage and then the passport reaches the applicant's address.

There are two modes applicants can opt for -- the regular mode where the passport reaches in 30-45 working days, or the Tatkaal mode where it reaches in a few days.