The Ministry of External Affairs on Wednesday, in collaboration with the Department of Posts, inaugurated a new Post Office Passport Seva Kendra (POPSK) in the tribal region of Araku, Alluri Seetharamaraju District, Andhra Pradesh, an official statement said.
This is the 443rd POPSK in the country and the eighth falling under the jurisdiction of the Regional Passport Office (RPO) of Visakhapatnam, it added.
Dr Gumma Thanuja Rani, Member of Parliament from Araku graced the inauguration ceremony, while Araku MLA Regam Matyalingam, Dr KJ Srinivasa, Joint Secretary (Passport Seva Programme) and Chief Passport Officer from the MEA and other senior officials were also present.
The POPSK in Araku has been established as a part of the government’s broader initiative to make essential passport services available to citizens, particularly in remote and far-flung regions of the country.
The new POPSK will serve residents of several villages in the tribal-dominated Araku Valley falling under the Assembly segments of Araku, Palakonda, Kurupam, Parvathipuram, Paderu, and Rampachodavaram under the Araku Lok Sabha constituency.
Dr Thanuja Rani acknowledged that the opening of the POPSK will benefit the local community and contribute towards efficient public service delivery.
The POPSK will operate with an initial capacity of 50 appointments per day, which can be scaled up based on demand, the MEA statement said.
The Passport Seva Kendra (PSK) programme was introduced under the Passport Seva Project, an e-Governance initiative by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) aimed at streamlining passport services for citizens. The programme began with pilot PSKs launched in Bengaluru and Chandigarh in 2010.