The Ministry of External Affairs has decided to open 77 more passport centers to deal with the vastly increasing applications for passports. These centers will be located in West Bengal , Andhra Pradesh, Delhi , Punjab, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.

Addressing a press conference in Kolkata on Wednesday the joint secretary of the Ministry of External Affairs, M.K Pardeshi said that these centers will start catering to the public by March next year.

Out of these 77 centers, West Bengal will have 4 centers. He said, for convenience of the applicants, centers will be opened at Kolkata, Silliguri , Baharampur and Kharagpur. Mr. Pardeshi also said that about 3 weeks to One month time will be taken to issue passports.