What is an e-Passport ?

E-Passport is issued to prevent tampering of passport. Passport will have a chip with an advanced security system. This chip will have all the details including date of birth, name of father or spouse of the applicant. The e-passport will have higher paper quality and printing too. In case if someone tries to tamper the e-passport with another image of the original passport holder, a message alerting the passport office will be generated through a separate software system.

Some of the features of e-Passport is as follows.

• The e-passport will have thicker front and back covers
• The back cover will have a small silicon chip, smaller than a postage stamp, as well as an embedded rectangular antenna
• It will take a few seconds to be read. Vital extra seconds will be saved at the immigration counters
• The software has been developed by IIT-Kanpur and National Informatics Centre (NIC). There is no commercial agency involved.
• The memory space of the chip is 64 kilobytes. Information up to 30 visits and international movement can be stored
• It is expected to store the photograph of the holder and eventually fingerprints too

As of today (February 2019), E-Passport is not yet issued. The manufacturing of e-passport with advanced security features and better printing and paper quality will commence on the successful completion of the tendering and procurement process by ISP, Nashik. 

Passport will be issued first to diplomats and officials. In the second phase, it will be issued to the general public.