New Delhi: The Indian passport has been ranked as the 79th most powerful in the world. According to the ranking by Henley and Partners Passport Index, Afghanistan and Iraq were the worst at 104 while Pakistan came close to them at 102. Pakistani passport allows one access to 33 countries.
The Henley index ranks world’s passports based on how many countries they can get the holder access to without a prior visa. An Indian passport holder can visit 61 countries without a pre-travel visa. This is close to twice as many countries a Pakistan passport holder can visit. Pakistan is at the bottom of the list, faring better only than war-torn countries of Somalia, Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq.
Japan tops the list and its passport gives holders access to 190 countries. Singapore and South Korea come second with access to 189 countries each while France and Germany share the third spot with access to 188 countries each.
The US passport gives its citizens access to 185 countries without the need for a prior visa and shares the sixth spot with UK, Austria, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Switzerland, Belgium and Canada.
China is placed 69th on the list while India’s other neighbours are placed thus: Bhutan (83rd), Sri Lanka (95th), Bangladesh (97th) and Nepal (98th).
Only last year, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj launched the mPassportSeva Mobile App along with a new scheme by which an applicant can apply for a passport from anywhere in the country.
She said the Government has increased the number of Passport Seva Kendra (PSK) and Post Office Passport Seva Kendra (POPSK) to 230 in the past four years.
“We found people were having problems because there were only 77 passport centres in the country. We coordinated with the post office to get space. Now, there are 230 such centres in the country,” she told the gathering after the launch ceremony of the app on the occasion of the Sixth Passport Seva Divas.
