From rxpgnews.com
Kerala issues maximum number of passports
By IANS,
Feb 14, 2007 - 3:13:48 PM
Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 14 - With the Middle East still a dream destination for many in Kerala, the state leads the rest of India in the number of passports issued.
In the last fiscal, a record 616,906 passports were given out from three passport offices in the state, according to figures provided by the external affairs ministry.
The Kozhikode office issued a record 272,804 passports followed by Kochi with 196,097 and Thiruvananthapuram with 148,005, says the data.
'On an average, the passport office here receives around 700 new applications for passports and issues 600 passports and we are working hard to bring down the total waiting period from the present 30 days,' Balachandran Nair, the new passport officer here, told IANS.
'For Tatkal applications, passports are issued in under 15 days,' said Nair.
He said if they had more space, they would have been in a position to give more personalised service to those visiting their office.
Kerala today is the only state in the country to have four full-fledged passport offices, with the fourth one having opened in Malappuram district in north Kerala last year.
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