Passports to be in Hindi too; 10% fee cut for under 8 and 60 plus

New Delhi, June 23

Passports would now be in both Hindi and English, instead of just English, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said today.

In changes aimed at easing the process of getting a passport, the minister also announced 10 per cent reduction in passport fee for applicants under eight and over 60 years of age and said ration cards could be submitted while applying for tatkal passports.

Giving the option of submitting a ration card would help people in rural areas who do not have a PAN card.

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Personal details in passports are now printed only in English and Swaraj said she had received several complaints about it. “Passports should at least be bilingual. All Arab countries have their passport in Arabic, Germany makes it in German and Russia makes it in Russian. Why can’t we make it in Hindi?

“Now, we have given an order to the Nashik Printing Press that passports should be (printed) in Hindi as well. So you will receive passports in Hindi and English,” Swaraj said at an event to mark 50 years of the Passport Act, 1967.

“There will be a 10 per cent reduction in passport fee for applicants who are under eight and over 60. And this will be applicable from tomorrow,” she announced.

She also highlighted the steps taken by her ministry in easing rules for getting international travel document, especially for orphans, single mothers and divorced women.

Swaraj asked states to emulate Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Delhi, Chandigarh, Gujarat and Goa that complete the police verification process for passports in less than six days. — PTI