HYDERABAD: To ensure faster and greater transparent services for citizens, plans are underway to reduce appointment cycles even further by adding additional slots.
The Regional Passport Office (RPO), Hyderabad is striving to reduce its appointment cycle from 6-8 working days to 5-7 working days from this year at Passport Seva Kendras (PSKs) while efforts are being made to deliver Tatkal passports within 1-3 working days.
In pursuance of the guidelines of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), RPO Hyderabad has drastically reduced its appointment cycle - the number of days within which a passport appointment is available.
Through consistent efforts and process improvements, the appointment cycle at PSKs for normal appointments has been reduced from 22 working days in 2023 to an average of 6-8 working days in 2024, with Tatkaal appointments now available within 1-5 working days.
At most Post Office Passport Seva Kendras (POPSKs), this reduction reflects RPO Hydedrabad’s commitment to delivering efficient services as appointments are now available within a week, RPO Hyderabad and head of the MEA Branch Secretariat in Hyderabad, J Snehaja said.
“The pendency has come down to almost zero. We are increasing appointments in some more locations. We are shifting some two to three PSKs to spacious premises, besides enhancing the availability of the appointment thereby further reducing the appointment cycle this year,” she said.
Snehaja told media persons that RPO Hyderabad which operates five PSKs and 14 POPSKs across Telangana, processed an average of 4,200 applications daily and handled around 9.02 lakh applications in 2024. These included passport issuance, police clearance certificates (PCC) and other related services.
For the PSKs in Hyderabad, the appointment cycle has been reduced from nearly 22 working days in 2023 to an average of 6-8 working days in 2024. At PSK Nizamabad, normal appointments are now available the next working day, while for Hyderabad PSKs, appointments are available within 6-8 working days. Tatkal appointments are available within 1-5 working days, with Nizamabad and Karimnagar PSKS offering appointments the next working day.
Similarly, for most POPSKs, normal appointments are now available within a week, making the services more accessible across Telangana. These improvements have been achieved through consistent efforts of increasing appointment availability and stabilising post-COVID demand. Efforts are on to further reduce appointment cycles to within five working days across PSKs and POPSKs.