'No' SIR data used for processing passport applications, renewals: Govt tells Parliament

New Delhi: The government on Thursday was asked whether the MEA or any agency under its administrative control has "sought, received or used data" collected during the SIR for processing passport applications or renewal. In its response, the ministry said "no".

The Ministry of External Affairs, in the Rajya Sabha, was also asked by CPI(M) MP John Brittas whether earlier Indian passports expressly carried the endorsement 'Citizen of India', thereby recording the holder's citizenship; and, if so, when and why was such endorsement 'discontinued' from Indian passports.

"The passport booklet has progressively shifted to ICAO-compliant machine-readable passport booklets and adopted standardised text as per ICAO norms. The phrase nationality has been incorporated in keeping with these norms," Minister of State for External Affairs, Kirti Vardhan Singh said in a written response.


ICAO stands for International Civil Aviation Organization.

The MEA was also asked to clarify whether deletion from electoral roll or similar administrative action under any other statute shall not, by itself, constitute a ground to question the citizenship of an existing passport holder or refuse renewal of a passport, to which Singh said, "Passport is issued as per the provisions of the Passports Act, 1967 and rules made thereunder".

The MEA was also asked, "whether the ministry or any agency under its administrative control has sought, received or used data generated during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) for processing passport applications or renewals".

Singh in his written response said, "No".

The government was also asked on Thursday about the ranking of the Indian passport as reported recently, to which it said there are "certain private institutions", which publish such ratings based on parameters "unilaterally" decided by them.

The ministry was asked whether the government is aware that in the ranking given by the World Economic Forum, the Indian Passport has "declined from 74th in 2013 to 80th in 2026", and the reasons for the same.

"There are certain private institutions, which publish such ratings based on parameters unilaterally decided by them. In the absence of acceptable criteria to rank passports, there is no widely recognised ranking system for passports at the global level that can be taken as a standard," Singh said.

The government of India has been continuously making efforts to increase the number of countries that may provide visa-free travel, visa-on-arrival and e-Visa facilities to Indians for ease of travelling around the world, he said.

As on date, 27 countries provide visa-free entry, 47 countries provide visa-on-arrival facility and 66 countries provide e-visa facility to Indian passport holders, the government said.

"However, formulation of policies with respect to issuance of visas is a sovereign matter of the respective country and the matter regarding providing visa-free entry/visa-on-arrival facility also depends on various factors including bilateral relations and principle of reciprocity," he said.

The issue of passports to Indian citizens or any other individual is governed by the Passports Act 1967 and rules made thereunder, the government said.

In a written response to a separate query to the MEA, Singh said, in 2025, 688 pilgrims visited Kailash Manasarovar by participating in the Kailash Manasarovar Yatra organised by the MEA.

Five batches travelled through the Lipulekh pass in Uttarakhand and 10 batches through the Nathu La Pass in Sikkim.

In 2026, arrangements have been made for a total of 1,000 yatris to travel in 10 batches through the Lipulekh pass in Uttarakhand and 10 batches through the Nathu La Pass in Sikkim, he added.

The government, in a separate query, was also asked the number of Indian sailors stranded aboard foreign vessels during the last three years.

In tabulated data, Singh shared the data, which stood as -- 56 Indian sailors stranded aboard foreign vessels (in 2023); 132 (in 2024); and 329 (in 2025).