Govt policies & Interventions

KEY POINTS

Proposed changes and its impact

·         GOI will no longer print the name of the spouse/father/legal guardian on the last page of passports.

·         Instead, the last page will be left blank.

·         It is being done to keep up with changed and emerging social norms.

·         Instances from the past in which the applicant had either insisted that the name of the father should not be mentioned in his/her passport or in her child’s passport, had suggested dropping the page.

·         This also resolves the issue of children of single parents applying for passports.

·         Another change that the GOI proposed in what is a first of its kind in differentiation, new “Orange cover Passports” to citizens whose passports carry the “Emigration Check Required” stamp.

·         For the rest, it is proposed to retain the current dark blue passports.

·         The move stems from the belief that different jacketing colours would enable easier recognition and improve airport efficiency.

·         ECR stamping is done to enable better tracking in order to prevent the exploitation of such people, when they go to work abroad as labourers.

·         While administrative convenience was said to have drove the move, many see it as an instance of institutionalising discrimination.

·         ECR passport-holders are those who haven’t passed their matriculation examination and aren’t income tax assesses. 

·         Notably, a majority in this category are likely to belong to a minority or marginalised communities.

·         This will create a citizenship document that will visibly identify some as members of economically and socially marginalised communities.

·         It will also leave such passport-holders vulnerable to discrimination—by airlines, service providers at airports and abroad, too.

·         The passport is universally recognised as certifying citizenship of a country.

·         It should not make a person feel like a second-class citizen.