Indian Passport 

An Indian passport is issued by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs to Indian citizens for the purpose of international travel. It enables the bearer to travel internationally and serves as proof of Indian citizenship as per the Passports Act (1967). The Passport Seva (Passport Service) unit of the Consular, Passport & Visa (CPV) Division of the Ministry of External Affairs functions as the central passport organisation, and is responsible for issuing Indian passports on demand to all eligible Indian citizens. Indian passports are issued at 93 passport offices located across India and at 162 Indian diplomatic missions abroad.

Indian Passport
The front cover of an ordinary Indian passport.
Date first issued	1920 (first version)  1986 (current version)
Issued by	India
Type of document	Passport
Purpose	Identification
Eligibility requirements	Indian citizenship
Expiration	10 years (Adult) 5 or 10 years (age 15 to 18) 5 years (Minor)

Types of passport

•      Ordinary Passport (Dark Blue) is issued to ordinary citizens for ordinary travel, such as for vacation, study and business trips (36 or 60 pages). It is a "Type P" passport, where P stands for Personal.

•      Official Passport (White cover) is issued to individuals representing the Indian government on official business. It is a "Type S" passport, S stands for Service.

•      Diplomatic Passport (Maroon cover) is issued to Indian diplomats, top ranking government officials and diplomatic couriers. It is a "Type D" passport with D stands for Diplomatic.

Tatkaal and SVP

Tatkaal Passports (For urgent needs) and Short Validity Passport (SVP) are also available and these are generally considered Ordinary Passportsonce issued