Indian passport

Indian Passport भारतीय पासपोर्ट
The front cover of a contemporary Indian passport.
Date first issued	1920 (first version) 1986 (current version) c. 2016 (biometric version)
Issued by	India
Type of document	Passport
Purpose	Identification
Eligibility requirements	Indian citizenship
Expiration	10 years after acquisition for those aged 18 or more; otherwise 5 years
Cost	Adult (36 pages) Application fee: ₹1,500 Tatkal fee: ₹3,500 Adult (60 pages) Application fee: ₹2,000 Tatkal fee: ₹4,000 Minor (under 18, 36 pages) Application fee: ₹1,000 Tatkal fee: ₹3,000 Note: If the application for a new passport is made under the Tatkal (expedited processing) scheme, the Tatkal fee is to be paid in addition to the regular application fee. All costs are in INR (₹).

An Indian passport is a passport issued by the President of India to citizens of the Republic of India for travelling abroad. It enables the bearer to travel internationally and serves as proof of Indian citizenship as per the Passports Act (1967).

The Consular Passport & Visa (CPV) Division of the Ministry of External Affairs, functioning as the central passport organisation, is responsible for issuing Indian passports on demand to all eligible Indian citizens. Passports are issued at 37 locations across India and at 162 Indian diplomatic missions (High Commissions, embassies and consulates) abroad.

In 2014, India issued more than 10 million passports, a number exceeded only by China and the US. Approximately 60 million Indians hold valid passports as of November 2014^[update].

In addition, selected passport offices in India as well as overseas missions are authorised to issue regular Indo-Bangladesh passports and Indo-Sri Lankan passports to Indian nationals resident in West Bengal, the North-Eastern States, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. These two passports respectively permit travel to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka only and are not valid for travel to other foreign countries.

Contemporary ordinary Indian passports have a dark blue or deep bluish-black cover with golden coloured printing. The Emblem of India is emblazoned in the centre of the front cover. The words 'पासपोर्ट' (Hindi) and 'Passport' (English) are inscribed above the Emblem whereas 'भारत गणराज्य' (Hindi) and 'Republic of India' (English) are inscribed below the emblem. The standard passport contains 36 pages, but frequent travellers can opt for a passport containing 60 pages.