India issues 1.38 crore passports in a year as the Seva network expands
On the 14th Passport Seva Divas, the Ministry of External Affairs put numbers to a decade of growth: passport issuance up two-thirds, the Kendra network up sixfold, and a backend overhaul aimed squarely at diaspora applicants abroad.
India marked the 14th Passport Seva Divas on 24 June 2026 with figures that show how much the country's busiest citizen service has grown.
The Ministry of External Affairs said it issued more than 1.38 crore passports in the last financial year — about 138 lakh — up from 83 lakh a decade ago, a rise of roughly 66 per cent. Across the 2025 calendar year, 1.5 crore passport-related services were delivered, of which passports alone accounted for 1.39 crore.
The network behind that has expanded just as fast. There are now 545 Passport Seva Kendras across the country, up from 77 a decade ago — a sixfold increase. And the Indian passport itself now carries visa-free entry to 27 countries, up from 16 in 2019.
For the diaspora, the relevant change is at the back end. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar used the day to highlight the programme's digital milestones, including the Global Passport Seva Programme V2.0, which since late 2025 has run behind the counter at Indian missions abroad — the practical difference for most non-resident Indians being faster turnaround and fewer administrative errors on renewals handled overseas.
One point the MEA repeated is worth underlining for anyone dealing with OCI paperwork: a passport is a travel document, not proof of citizenship. It is a distinction that routinely trips up applicants, and one the ministry seems keen to make stick.
Sources: NRI Affairs — India's passport boom, by the numbers · Organiser — 1.39 crore passports issued in 2025; network expands to 545 centres · New Kerala — Jaishankar on the 14th Passport Seva Divas.
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