Page 32 - NIS English January1-15

NEW HOPE
NEW DAWN PASSPORT SEVA PROGRAMME

GLOBAL CONSUMER CONFIDENCE
l India stands at the 2nd place of Global Consumer
Confidence in 2020. As per Nielsen survey,
Consumer Confidence in India is the highest. The
country was on the top for two consecutive years in
the past
GLOBAL FIRE POWER RANKING
l For 2020, India is ranked 4 out of 138 countries THE NEW AGE PASSPORT
considered for the annual GFP review. India is one l The MEA is working on e-Passports with the
of the top four powers in the world after the US, aim to prepare a new passport booklet with
Russia and China
modern security features
CLIMATE CHANGE PERFORMANCE INDEX l After issuing 20,000 official and diplomatic
l India joins the top 10 countries in this year's Climate e-Passports on a trial basis with such chips,
Change Performance Index (CCPI) for the first the Government has now begun the process
time. This is a result of efforts made to bring down for issuance of e-Passports for all citizens
India's carbon emission. On the other hand, the
United States was included in the worst-performing l This will make passports difficult to forge and
countries for the first time facilitate quick immigration for international
passengers
THE INDIAN PASSPORT HAS l Rationalisation and simplification of the Visa
STRENGTHENED OVER THE PAST FIVE regime is a continuous process. Foreigners
YEARS AND HAS JUMPED 10 RANKS ON of Indian origin can avail Overseas Citizen
GLOBAL INDEX – FROM 77 IN 2015 of India (OCI) card scheme
TO 67 IN 2019 l As per the provisions of the scheme, OCI
card holders get benefits of a multiple

l Foreigners of Indian origin can also avail e-Visa
entry life-long visa for visiting India for any
facility, which is available for the nationals of
purpose
166 countries
l Further, foreigners of Indian origin may also
l The Ministry proposes to link and integrate all obtain multiple entry visas for the period of
Embassies and Consulates abroad with PSP five years
l In addition, the spouse and children of an
l The Government intends to open up POPSKs
Indian citizen/Person of Indian Origin/OCI
in every Lok Sabha constituency where no
card holder may obtain multiple entry Visa
PSK exists
for a period of five year

l The Government looked at required to submit a parent and applicants who
the process of integrating verification certificate from a are separated or divorced
Indian Missions and Posts gazetted officer l In another ranking, Indian
abroad into the Passport l The Government has passport, ranked 84th in
Seva Programme reduced the number of the world's most powerful
l Those applying for a documents and eased the passport index 2020, can
passport under the ‘tatkal passport issuance process get you visa-free entry to 58
scheme’ are no longer for minors, minors with single destinations worldwide

30 New India Samachar