New Delhi, June 23: Announcing big changes in Indian passport rules, Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj on Friday said the newly introduced passports will be available in both languages, Hindi and English. The move seems to be intended towards making the passport more convenient for the users. Earlier, passports used to be issued in English language.
Swaraj further announced the applicants below the age of 8 and senior citizens will have to pay 10 per cent less fee for new passports. On the fiftieth anniversary of Passports Act, Swaraj said, “We have brought improvement in passport rules, services & focused on doorstep delivery.”
Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said that married women need to change their names even after their marriage to an Indian Passport. He further said that it is entirely up the discretion of women to use their father/mother/guardian’s name for renewing their passport.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi referred to the new passport rules announced by Ministry of External Affairs for applying/ renewing passports for those women who had acquired their passport prior to their marriage. The ministry has decided to do away with Annexure K of Passport Rules 1980 to filled necessarily by married women, in case they failed to submit their marriage certificates. Similarly, the annexure was to be filled by women who have been separated but not divorced legally.
