Digitisation has given rise to electronic versions of almost all KYC documents. Passport does not fall behind in this race as well.

According to External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar, Indian citizens will be able to procure e-Passports with enhanced security features in the near future. 

Here is a detailed discourse on what an e-Passport is and its features.

An e-Passport is a chip-enabled passport with a biometric identification card strengthening the transparency and security of travel documents.

However, it is no different from a regular passport in terms of application, verification, and information.

The unique benefits of e-Passport in India are -

• Passengers with an e-passport do not have to stand in queue for a long time as it can be scanned in a few seconds.
• It has a biometric record of individuals. Therefore, it will prevent fraudsters from conducting data piracy and making duplicate passports.
• On tampering, the chip passport authentication will fail.
• No one can wipe data from it.

There are 41 security features of e-passport. It is valid for 5 or 10 years based on the age of the applicant. 

Some of these features are -

• Embossed holographic images in a laminated film that appear to change colour and move under light.
• Demographic information of the bearer.
• Biometric information of the bearer.
• Fingerprints of all 10 fingers of the bearer’s hand.
• Iris scans of the bearer.
• Colour photograph of the bearer.
• Digital signature of the bearer.

The process of applying for an e-passport in India is the same as regular or MRP. The procedure is -

• Go to the Passport Seva website and click on “Register Now” or log in with your existing ID.
• Click on “Apply for Fresh Passport” or “Re-issue of Passport”.
• Provide all the details and hit “Submit”.
• Click on “Pay and Schedule Appointment” to make payment.

Upon completing this process, print the receipt or show the acknowledgement SMS at PSK/POPSK/PO.

Documents required for an e-passport are the same as a regular passport. First-time applicants need the following documents -

• Address proof - Any of the following documents will serve as address proof -
• Aadhar card
• Telephone bill
• Electricity bill
• Water bill
• Proof of gas connection
• Rent agreement
• Passbook of running bank account with attached photon it(account with any scheduled private sector, public sector, or rural, regional banl0
• Passport copy of spouse with first and last page with mentioned applicant name as a spouse. Also, the applicant's present address should match with the spouse address mentioned on the passport.

Note that individuals have to furnish details of all the places they have resided in for the last year.

• Date of birth proof - You can provide any one of the following documents can be given as proof of birth date -
• Birth certificate from a legitimate authority.
• Matriculation, transfer, or school leaving certificate issued the authority of leave and educational board stating the last date of school attending
• Pan card
• Aadhar card
• Driving license
• Voter Id Card
• Life insurance policy in the applicant’s name

Those with regular passports applying for re-issuance have to submit the following documents -

• Original passport
• Copy of the first and last page of the passport.
• Observation page
• ECR or non-ECR page

An e-Passport works on the potential of the embedded rectangular antenna type electronic chip of 64-kilobyte storage.

Besides knowing what an e-Passport is, Indians must also know the makers of this innovation.

It has been developed by the association of three major technical institutes in India -

• Indian Institute of Technology-Kanpur.
• National Informatics Centre (NIC). 
• India Security Press and the Ministry of External Affairs officials.

Its inlay will comply with International Civil Aviation Organisation standards to work seamlessly across the world. It is designed in a way to prevent data access from any remote source.

An e-passport in India with an electronic data chip gives an added layer of security compared to a regular one. It better links a passport to its original owner and prevents counterfeiting.

Generally, a regular passport or machine-readable passport (MRP) has data pages with printed information about the owner that an optical reader can scan.

Presently, e-Passport is in use in around 120 countries worldwide. Individuals can use it for any international travelling purpose or as document proof.

Now that you know what an e-Passport is, you have understood how it is helpful for both the government and citizens. The issuance of this electronic chip-embedded document will enhance security and expedite the passport verification procedure during travelling.