The Central government is planning to re-activate the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems Project (CCTNS), a project first conceptualised by the UPA Government in 2009. This will eliminate the need for physical police verification for getting a new passport.

With the mergeer of Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems Project (CCTNS) and bringing CCTNS in implementation, police verification could be simplified and completed with just a few clicks. As per former Union Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi, the CCTNS, an exhaustive national database of crimes and criminals, was expected to be linked with the passport service of the External Affairs Ministry. CCTNS will check the past history and background of the applicants with a single click.

Mehrishi had told mediapersons: “For passport credentials, the police is already using CCTNS in some states. Police will be given handheld devices to upload the applicant’s details upon reaching their home. This will not only minimize the contact of the applicant with the police officer to curb bribing but also reduce the time for getting the passport.”

Home Minister Rajnath Singh launched the CCTNS project, which will connect all the 15,398 police stations of the county, Mehrishi said. This means the  CCTNS had been expanded for further use by incorporating citizen-centric services, such as tenant verification, which could be done with the consent of the person being verified, connecting the network with criminal justice delivery system and quick registration of FIR in any crime.

–      India Legal Bureau