India ranks third in global issuance of passports, growing at 19 per cent

In terms of global issuance of passport, India is ranked third placed behind China and the United States. The government of India, in total, issued 1.31 crore passports and other related services in the year 2017, over 7.38 crore citizens held valid passports. During 2017, Ministry of External Affairs processed approximately 1.17 crore passport and passport related service applications compared to 98.4 lakhs in 2016 marking a growth of nearly 19 per cent. The Passport Offices, Headquarters and the Office of the Chief Secretary of Andaman and Nicobar Islands received 1,17,34,020 and passport related service applications including Police Clearance Certificates, against which 1,15,82,367 passports and related documents were issued (inclusive of 2665 Diplomatic passports, 29022 Official passports, 5111 Surrender Certificates (SC), 2078 Identity Certificates (IC) and 2568 Line of Control (LoC) applications). 184 Indian Embassies and Consulates abroad issued approximately 15.13 lakh passports, Emergency Certificates and other passport related miscellaneous services.