Online passport portal shut: In what could create a lot of trouble for flyers, the online portal for passport applications will be shut for the next five days starting today from 8PM, the government has said. In addition, no new appointments can be scheduled during this period and appointments booked earlier will be rescheduled. According to the government, this is being done for maintenance purposes.
“Passport Seva portal will be down for technical maintenance from 29th August 2024, Thursday 20:00 hrs IST to 2nd September, Monday 06:00 hrs IST. System will not be available during this period for citizens and for all MEA/RPO/BOI/ISP/DoP/Police Authorities. The already booked appointments for 30th August 2024 will be suitably rescheduled and informed to applicants,” a note on the Passport Seva portal said.
According to the External Affairs Ministry, “For rescheduling of appointments, we always have contingency plans. The maintenance activity for a public centric service (like Passport Seva Kendras) is always planned in advance so that no inconvenience is meted out to public. So rescheduling an appointment will not be a challenge,” a source from the ministry has said.
Alert for fake websites
Along with this, the portal has also alerted about fake websites. “It has come to the notice of the Ministry that many fraudulent websites and mobile applications are collecting data from applicants and also levying additional hefty charges for filling up the online application form and scheduling appointment for Passport and related services. Some of these fake website are registered in the domain name *.org, *.in, *.com such as www.indiapassport.org, www.online-passportindia.com, www.passportindiaportal.in, www.passport-india.in, www.passport-seva.in, www.applypassport.org and many other similar looking websites.”
“It is therefore advised to all citizens applying for Indian Passport and related services that they should NOT visit to the above mentioned fraudulent websites or make payment related to passport services. The official website of the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, for applying Passport services is www.passportindia.gov.in,” it added.