New passports with added security features dispatched - Thursday April 11,2013

Three hundred and eight passports, with additional security features, were dispatched on Thursday, marking the launch of a new variant of passport. 

C. Senthil Pandian, Regional Passport Office (RPO), Chennai, said that since Wednesday morning, officials in the Chennai RPO were coordinating with Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) officials in New Delhi and Tata Consultancy Services professionals to make changes in the software and alignment procedures to synchronise the printers at the RPO office, Chennai

C. Senthil Pandian, Regional Passport Office (RPO) said that only six new passports could be printed on Wednesday as only one printer at the Chennai RPO got synchronised with the MEA office, New Delhi. On Thursday, three more printers were synchronised with the MEA, which facilitated the printing and dispatch of 380 passports. Two more printers had to be synchronised

New security features

• Personal particulars of the passport holder, hitherto printed on the inner cover page, would be printed on the second page of the document

• Ghost picture of the holder, which will be found on the right side of the second page

• Details of the holder, now printed on the last page, would be taken to page 35

• The signature and seal of the passport issuing authority would be printed on front overleaf page instead of page one