***New Passport***
There are various kinds of opinions about the process (From 'Applying' to 'Receiving') of getting passport in hand.
India is a corrupted country & when it comes to "Sarkaari Kaam", we get worried. But my experience has been 'Good' overall.
But getting a passport in hand, according to my personal experience, now-a-days it don't feel like a "Sarkaari Kaam". Obviously the primary reason being that, Passport is a very important document & it is mandatorily been granted within 3-months from the appointment at a PSK (Passport Seva Kendra).
The second reason being that, the PSKs are maintained by Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), which is one of the largest BPO of Indian Origin. They are very much active & concentrated towards the work, assigned to them.
Now, coming to my personal experience, let me first discuss the documents required during the whole process, & then the steps involved in the process :
Documents Required :
1. Birth Certificate
2. Aadhar Card
3. Voter ID Card
4. PAN Card
5. Class-X Grade Card
6. Class-X Admit Card
7. Class-XII Grade Card
8. Driving License (if you have)
9. Guardian's School leaving Grade Card/Certificate
10.Guardian's Voter ID Card, PAN Card, Aadhar Card.
11.Last 1-year's Electricity / Telephone Bill. (For Address proof)
12.Applicant's Bank passbook- last 1-2 years' transaction Xerox along with the 1st page.
Steps involved :
1. Register yourself, make payment & submit your Application at " passportindia.gov.in ".
I registered myself online on 29/12/2014
2. Print out the Appointment Form & visit the PSK (that you've selected), at the mentioned Date & Time.
I printed out the ARN Form & visited PSK Kolkata on 30/01/2015. My time slot was from 2:30 PM. I received my Passport Application receipt & got out of the office at around 04:30 P.M.
3. Enter PSK, follow the steps. You'll be guided accordingly. You'll have to go through 3 sections -A, B & C. At Section A, Documents' (1-8) are required to be submitted. At Section B, the documents would be attested & verified. At Section C, they'll again look at your documents. Last, you'll have to collect your receipt from the EXIT COUNTER.
Simple steps. I was guided by personels at each & every step. You also have to look for your Token number before you reach a counter, at the TV provided at PSK. You are required to carry Original & Xerox of respective documents (No. 01-08)
4. You'll be called by your respective thana (Police Station), for Police Verification. (Within 1 month from the Appointment Date.)
I was called at the registered mobile number & was asked to visit the regional police station or 'Thana', along with the Original & Xerox of all the mentioned Documents (No. 01-12).
*Remember*---*All my documents were not accepted on the first day, though my Documents were very much correct. Those were accepted on the second day when I paid the policeman, a bribe of ₹400/- in an envelope.* (The rate varies-- One of my friend paid ₹300, while another one paid ₹500.)
5. You wont have to do anything more. You can track your Status for your file number at the Passport India Website mentioned above, or at the mPassport Seva app at your mobile devices.
6. You will receive the passport at your registered adress within another 1-month from the date of Completion of Police Verification.
I finally received my Passport on 18/03/2015. The postman asked for some amount & he was paid ₹20/-.
[The steps will be this easy & smooth if you have all the above mentioned documents. You can either apply for NORMAL, if you have atleast 3-months of time in your hand. If required immediately, apply for TATKAL.]
Since, I subscribed to the SMS seva, below is the screenshot of the whole process, my Passport had gone through-
Important : Do not get in touch with any 'Agents'. They will unnecessarily take excess amount from you. The steps, now-a-days are so simplified, that you don't really need any external help.
Hope this information helped you in some way or the other! Happy Passport-ing! :D
