The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Friday renewed the contract with IT conglomerate Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) to drive the second phase of Passport Seva programme. The country's largest e-governance initiative will undergo major changes under this renewed partnership, including refreshed facilities, systems and innovative solutions.
"TCS has been playing a vital role in building a Digital India, driving transformation programs of national importance. Our partnership with MEA over the last decade has become a benchmark in public-private partnership for citizen services. We are pleased to be selected for the next phase of the Passport Seva Program and look forward to driving further innovations and improving citizen experiences using our contextual knowledge and digital technologies," Public Sector Business Unit Head at TCS Tej Bhatia said in a statement.
The decision to pick TCS for the task comes after the successful implementation of the first phase. The Passport Seva programme, which was launched in 2008, witnessed major transformation at the hands of TCS for the delivery of passport-related services, a digitised process and setting a global benchmark in efficiency, transparency and reliability.
Passport Seva programme 2.0
The next phase of the programme, according to TCS, will upgrade the existing facilities and systems while developing innovative solutions for the issuance of e-passports. The end result would enhance the end-user experience by using advanced technologies such as biometrics, AI, advanced data analytics, chatbots, auto-response, natural language processing and the cloud.
While TCS will serve as the technological backbone of the programme, the government will continue to undertake all sovereign and security-related tasks while issuing passport and related services.
Neither TCS nor the MEA has disclosed the financial aspects of the deal. The first phase of the programme was pegged at Rs 1,000 crore. According to an industry analyst, the renewed deal could be worth Rs 2,000 crore, Money Control reported.
Besides, TCS also runs other critical e-governance projects, including Passport Seva Kendra, India Post and IRCTC. Last month, it was reported that many state governments were discussing setting up blockchain-based infrastructure for various projects and citizen services. TCS was also considered for a partnership.
TCS has remained bullish on using blockchain on many fronts, including decentralised and transparent population-scale services including KYC, asset registration, fund transfers, procurement, voting system, digital currencies and data security.
