India prepares for ePassports by 2013

India is planning to roll out e-passports to its citizens by 2013, according to local news reports.

Minister of State for external affairs E. Ahamed told the Indo Asian News Service, that the country would soon launch a process for introducing e-passports and that the introduction would occur stage by stage.

In the first phase, India would introduce electronic passports for diplomats and officials, followed by citizens by 2013.

The Ministry of External Affairs was also quoted as saying it wants to simplify the process of obtaining a passport. It suggested that police verification could eliminated for some categories of people, such as students and employees of reputable institutes or offices.