On Tuesday, February 1, 2022, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union budget for 2022-23. She noted that e-passports with embedded chips will be launched in the financial year 2023. The country will start issuing the chip embedded passports which is another move towards the Digital India campaign. 

An e-passport contains an electronic chip which will hold all security related data encoded within. It will hold the same information that is printed on the passport’s data page such as name, date of birth and other biographic information. According to reports, the new chip embedded passports will make use of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) and biometrics. The passports will secure biometric data matching the standards of International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO). This new move will aid in a smooth passage through immigration posts all over the world.  The advanced security features aim to provide citizens with an enhanced experience. The passports are scheduled to be produced at India Security Press, Nashik. 

These e-passports will enable to securely identify the traveller, provide protection against identity theft, protect privacy and make it challenging to alter documents.