E-passports to be embedded with chips coming this year, says Finance Minister

CIOReviewIndia Team | Tuesday, 01 February 2022, 08:10 IST

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In a move away from printed booklets, the government will start issuing e-passports this year, which will include electronic chips, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced today while presenting the Union Budget 2022.

The e-passports will use Radio Frequency Identification and biometrics, and the electronic chip will contain important security related data encoded within it. An e-Passport contains an electronic chip which holds the same information that is printed on the passport's data page: the holder's name, date of birth, and other biographic information. An e-Passport also contains a biometric identifier.

The e-passports will secure biometric data, allow smooth passage through immigration posts globally.

These chip-enabled e-Passports contain advanced security features and will provide an enhanced experienced to citizens, said the finance minister.

The personal particulars of the applicants would be digitally signed and stored in the chip which would be embedded in the passport booklet.

If there is any tampering with the chip, the system can identify it, and the passport will not be authenticated.

E-passports were first announced in 2019 and the government said that they are compliant with the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) standards.

E-Passports help to securely identify the traveler, provide protection against identity theft, protect privacy and make it difficult to alter a document.

The biographic and biometric data contained in the electronic chip can be compared to both the traveler and the travel document being presented. There are multiple layers of security in the e-Passport process that prevent duplication.

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