GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO - 3346
ANSWERED ON 07/08/2026
DEMAND FOR POPSK IN ISLAMPUR
3346. SHRI KARTICK CHANDRA PAUL
Will the Minister of EXTERNAL AFFAIRS be pleased to state :-
(a) whether the Government is considering the establishment of a Post
Office Passport Seva Kendra(POPSK) in Islampur Sub Division, West
Bengal in view of demand from...
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO - 3346 ANSWERED ON 07/08/2026 DEMAND FOR POPSK IN ISLAMPUR
3346. SHRI KARTICK CHANDRA PAUL
Will the Minister of EXTERNAL AFFAIRS be pleased to state :-
(a) whether the Government is considering the establishment of a Post Office Passport Seva Kendra(POPSK) in Islampur Sub Division, West Bengal in view of demand from local residents for better accessibility to passport services, if so, the details thereof;
(b) whether any action has been taken regarding the establishment of POPSK in Islampur and if so, the details thereof, along with the future plans to address this demand; and
(c) the number of passports issued by the existing POPSK in Raiganj during the last five years, year-wise? 1ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS (SHRI KIRTI VARDHAN SINGH)
(a) & (b) Opening of Passport Offices (POs), Passport Seva Kendras
(PSKs) and Post Office Passport Seva Kendras (POPSKs) is an on-going activity that depends upon factors including scalability of the existing PSK/POPSK, distance from the nearest POs/ PSKs/ POPSKs and the increasing volume of passport applications from a particular region. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has taken several steps to expand and strengthen the network of PSKs and POPSKs across the country, including in West Bengal. MEA, in association with the Department of Posts (DoP), has opened numerous Seva Kendras at the Head Post Offices (HPOs)/Post Offices (POs) in each Lok Sabha Constituency (LSC) where there is no PSK or POPSK, including in West Bengal. Under this initiative, a POPSK is already operational in Raiganj LSC, of which Islampur sub division is part.
(c) The number of passports issued by the Regional Passport Office, Kolkata via POPSK, Raiganj during the last five years is as under :
2Data on Passports Issued Through POPSK, Raiganj Year Number of Passports Issued 2021 2,688 2022 6,061 2023 6,298 2024 4,510 2025 2,825 2026 (till 30.06.2026) 1,738 ***** 3