The Indian Government is urging people to complete the DigiLocker process mandatorily before applying for a passport, starting from August 5. Before this, the Chennai regional passport office also notified passport applicants to submit the supporting documents on DigiLocker before submitting the application at the official website.
Moreover, a notice is also issued by the Mumbai office notifying people to register on DigiLocker if they are required to submit Aadhaar during the passport verification process.
DigiLocker Account Likely to Become Mandatory for Passport Applicants
With a mandate issued by the Mumbai and Chennai office, now you can estimate this will be a nationwide process for all passport applicants. “By linking Aadhaar information to the DigiLocker account, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) aims to facilitate quicker and more secure processing of passport applications,” mentioned India Today.
According to an official notice, a DigiLocker account is being mandated for passport applicants to make the process less time-consuming and smooth at all passport seva kendras across the Nation. “From August 5, 2023, in case applicants choose to submit Aadhaar as proof of present residential address or date of birth, applicants must select the DigiLocker option when filing the online application. In case applicants do not exercise the option of DigiLocker for an Aadhaar at the time of online submission of the passport application, Aadhaar shall not be accepted as a valid document for proof of present address or date of birth at passport seva Kendra (PSK) or post office passport seva kendras (POPSKs),” a notice from Mumbai regional passport office reads.
How Will This Make Things Easy?
Applicants registering on DigiLocker will also upload their documents on this safe cloud-based platform. They can skip bringing the documents physically to the passport offices or Passport Seva Kendras.
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What is DigiLocker?
For those who don’t know, DigiLocker is a cloud-based platform working as a digital wallet to save all your documents. Launched and managed by the Indian Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, DigiLocker services eradicate the need to travel with physical documents. Account holders can upload or link essential Government documents on DigiLocker, including driver’s licenses, vehicle registration certificates, PAN, Aadhar, school or college mark sheets, etc. For opening a DigiLocker account, the user must have their mobile number linked to Aadhaar.
