The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has selected Tata Consultancy Services for the second phase of the Passport Seva Programme, following ‘successful’ implementation of its first phase, the technology firm said in a statement on Friday.
The order value is likely worth at least ₹6,000 crore, according to analysts who did not wish to be named.
In this phase, TCS would refresh existing facilities and systems, and develop ‘innovative’ new solutions to enable the issuance of e-passports, the company said.
Use of technologies such as biometrics, artificial intelligence, data analytics, chatbots, auto-response, natural language processing, and cloud would help enhance the citizen experience, it added.
“Our partnership with MEA over the last decade has become a benchmark in public-private partnership for citizen services,” Tej Bhatla, business unit head, Public Sector, TCS, said.
Introduced in 2008, the programme helped improve delivery of passport-related services, digitise processes, and set global benchmarks in timeliness, transparency, and reliability, the firm said.