Apropos of the news report, “Passport fee increase angers Indian expatriate community,” by Fouzia Khan (Oct. 14 ), the recent Indian fee hike for renewing passport is definitely high especially for the labor class who earn low wage. Since the increase has been imposed by the Indian government, missions abroad can't help much. What they however can do is to improve services through service providers.
For example, if you wish to renew passport of your dependent in Jeddah, the service providers asks them to be present in person, otherwise they won't accept documents for renewal. This requirement is not mentioned anywhere in the guidelines published for passport renewal. Further it takes longer time than usual for getting your documents back as they take a lot of time in delivering and collecting documents from the consulate.
The Indian government are unfortunately increasing fees and charges in the name of expenditure, but failed to revive the limit of carrying gold by Indians living abroad. India’s Customs and Central Excise Rules 1967 stipulates that a man traveling to India can bring gold ornaments worth Rs. 10,000 while a woman is allowed to bring gold worth a maximum of Rs 20,000. Customs duty will be charged on additional value. I request the authorities to look into these things as well and derive a practical solution to problems like this. — Khwaja Nasir Jamal, By e-mail
Improve services too
