Despite a shortage of manpower, a large volume of pending applications and the recurrent problems of document authentication and the vetting process, the Department of Passport (DoP) has issued approximately one million Machine Readable Passports (MRPs) since it first started distributing them in January 2011.

At a press conference at the DoP on Friday, Acting Director General Yadav Khanal said, “The department is facing a severe manpower crunch as the volume of applications for passports has risen sharply. Maintaining the quality of service and timely delivery of passports are our focus.”

Data showed that the number of those seeking passports for foreign employment has continued to rise in recent years. Everyday, the department receives around 2,500 applications through the DoP itself, 18 collection centres and Nepali missions aboard. 

Khanal said reforms in the passport delivery process are on in full swing as a biometric passport would be mandatory after November 2015. The department is also bracing for stern measures against lost passports under new guidelines, said Khanal. Once the issuance of the National Identity Card (NID) begins, the time required to issue a passport will decrease substantially, he claimed.  

Addressing the press meet, Chief of Protocol at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) Niranjan Man Singh Basnyat said the number of tampered passports has decreased significantly since the adoption of the MRPs. 

During the press conference, the DoP and officials from the France-based Oberthur Technologies hailed the ISO: 9001 certification awarded to the management procedure for issuing MRPs. The Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), which was designed before the issuance of the MRPs, has met international standards, said Siddartha Pandey, local representative for Oberthur.

Executive Director of the NID Centre Tulsi Prasad Gautam briefed the media on the importance of the NID and outlined his office’s plans for the same. 

Chief of the Bureau of Standards and Metrology Ram Adarsha Saha said the ISO certification was an important achievement.

Published on: 30 March 2013 | The Kathmandu Post