Why is Passport Seva trending? What’s the issue with the portal?

The Passport Seva portal, a crucial online resource for passport services in India, experienced a significant surge in Google searches after it went offline for scheduled maintenance. The topic witnessed over 20,000 searches within a few hours on Tuesday, marking a 75% increase in search volume. This surge coincided with the portal's unavailability from August 29 to September 2, 2024.

Passport Seva: Scheduled Maintenance Completed Early

A notice posted on the official website had informed users that the Passport Seva portal would be unavailable due to technical maintenance. The notice stated, "Passport Seva portal will be down for technical maintenance from 29th August 2024, Thursday 20:00 hrs IST to 2nd September, Monday 06:00 hrs IST. The system will not be available during this period for citizens and for all MEA/RPO/BOI/ISP/DoP/Police Authorities."

However, the Ministry of External Affairs announced that the maintenance work was completed ahead of schedule. The system was restored at 7:00 PM IST on September 1, 2024, making it accessible to both citizens and authorities once again.

Passport Seva: Rescheduling of Appointments

With the portal now back online, users can resume booking appointments, renewing passports, and accessing other services. The Ministry also addressed the issue of appointments scheduled for August 30, 2024, stating that these would be rescheduled. Applicants will be informed of the new dates and times for their appointments.

The early completion of the maintenance work has ensured minimal disruption to passport-related services, allowing the portal to return to full functionality ahead of the expected timeline.