PASSPORTS WILL BE IN ENGLISH AND HINDI: SWARAJ

NEW DELHI: External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj announced on Friday that passports will now be in both Hindi and English, and not just in English. She also announced 10% reduction in passport fee for applicants who are under eight and over 60. Personal details in passports are now printed only in English.

NEW DELHI: Passports will now go bilingual and be in both Hindi and English, instead of just English, said external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj on Friday.

Swaraj said there would be a 10% reduction in passport fee for applicants under eight and over 60 and that ration cards could be submitted while applying for tatkal passports. The second option would greatly help people in rural areas who do not have a PAN card.

Personal details in passports are now printed only in English. “Passports should at least be bilingual. All Arab countries have their passports in Arabic, Germany makes it in German, and Russia makes it in Russian. Why can’t we make it Hindi?” she asked. “Now, we have given an order to 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.

Swaraj said there was a rise in demand for passports for the elderly. “There will be a 10% reduction in passport fee for applicants who are under eight and over 60 years. And this will be applicable from Saturday,” she said.

Swaraj said she had received several complaints about difficulties in getting a passport. After studying the rules, she realised some norms were “unnecessary, obsolete or impractical”.