In a pilot that is expected to go national within months, the Regional Passport Office (RPO) in Ahmedabad began accepting identity and address proofs through DigiLocker from 8 December. Applicants can now link their DigiLocker account directly to the Passport Seva portal and grant one-time consent for officials to pull verified Aadhaar, PAN and driving-licence records.
The shift eliminates repeated scanning of hard-copies and is projected to shave at least 10 minutes off each counter interaction—a significant gain when the RPO handles close to 4,500 applications daily. The Ministry of External Affairs has simultaneously clarified that Aadhaar downloaded via DigiLocker qualifies as valid proof of address when submitted online, closing a long-standing grey area.
![Ahmedabad Passport Office adopts DigiLocker, streamlines e-documents for faster issuance]()
For global-mobility managers, the change promises faster pickup of employee passports, reducing turnaround times for visa filings. Relocation providers say the move dovetails with the nationwide roll-out of chip-enabled e-passports and the Passport Seva 2.0 revamp, which aims to issue 15-day Tatkal passports in under five working days by mid-2026.
Cyber-security experts welcome the encryption standards used by DigiLocker but caution that applicants must carefully grant and revoke access tokens to avoid data misuse. The RPO plans workshops for corporate-bulk applicants and expat spouses to familiarise them with the new workflow.
The shift eliminates repeated scanning of hard-copies and is projected to shave at least 10 minutes off each counter interaction—a significant gain when the RPO handles close to 4,500 applications daily. The Ministry of External Affairs has simultaneously clarified that Aadhaar downloaded via DigiLocker qualifies as valid proof of address when submitted online, closing a long-standing grey area.
For global-mobility managers, the change promises faster pickup of employee passports, reducing turnaround times for visa filings. Relocation providers say the move dovetails with the nationwide roll-out of chip-enabled e-passports and the Passport Seva 2.0 revamp, which aims to issue 15-day Tatkal passports in under five working days by mid-2026.
Cyber-security experts welcome the encryption standards used by DigiLocker but caution that applicants must carefully grant and revoke access tokens to avoid data misuse. The RPO plans workshops for corporate-bulk applicants and expat spouses to familiarise them with the new workflow.
Source: The Times of India – Ahmedabad
