Monday, July 29, 2013

Passport services now on phones

Ministry of external affairs on Monday launched its ambitious mobile app,MEA India, described by foreign secretary Ranjan Mathai as a one-stop shop. The app will make it possible to apply for passport and avail other services related to the travel document — as also visas and consular assistance anywhere in the world — using your smartphone or other handheld devices. 

"Whether it be information on passport status applied anywhere in India or location of centres which attest documents in India, or pilgrims travelling to Saudi Arabia for the Haj, this one stop-shop will provide you all you need to know," said Mathai, who played the lead role in the development of the app. 

"Diplomats were earlier encouraged to work in anonymity but the requirements of communication have changed and evolved and so have we in MEA," he added. Mathai retires on Wednesday. 

The app is designed and developed by engineers from National Informatics Centre and Silver Touch Technologies and MEA under-secretary E Vishnu Vardhan Reddy. On an experimental basis, the app will allow ordinary Indians to ask questions about India's foreign policy which will be answered directly by the foreign minister. 

While the app will also make it possible to apply online for passport on your phone, it can also be used to seek consular help while travelling abroad. "MEAIndia helps you find the nearest Indian Mission/Post and establish contact with Indian officials there. Consular help is now just a click away," said an official.

No comments:

Post a Comment