External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Friday announced that passports will now be available in both Hindi and English. Currently, personal details in passports are printed only in English. “All passports will be in English and Hindi languages from now on”, said Swaraj, according to PTI.
The minister also announced a 10% slash in passport fee for applicants who are under eight and over 60 years of age. Swaraj made the announcements while addressing an event to mark 50 years of the Passport Act, 1967.
In December 2016, the Ministry of External Affairs had said the Aadhaar or an e-aadhaar card will be accepted as a proof of date of birth, while announcing a new set of rules for passport application. The ministry had also announced the removal of the mandatory requirement of the birth certificate as the proof of date of birth.
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