Is your passport a MRP or not? Indian citizens living are advised to apply for urgent re-issuance of their passports.
Copied from a public notice
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Ministry of External Affairs
(Patiala House, Tilak Marg, New Delhi)
Government of India
CPV Division
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Dated: December 23, 2014
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PUBLIC ADVISORY
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Indian citizens living in India and abroad are advised to apply for urgent re-issuance of their passports in the
following
(i). HANDWRITTEN PASSPORTS
The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) has
set a deadline of the 24th November, 2015 for globally
phasing out of all non-Machine Readable Passports (MRPs).
From the 25th November, 2015 onwards, foreign Governments
may deny Visa or entry to any person travelling on a non-
Machine Readable Passport.
The Government of India has been issuing Machine
Readable Passports since 2001. The Passports, however,
issued
before 2001 and particularly those issued during mid 1990s
with
a validity of 20 years will fall in the category of
non-MRPs. All
handwritten passports with pasted photographs are also
considered non-MRPs.
By the end of November 2014, it is estimated that there are
approximately 2.86 lakh handwritten passports in
circulation.
Approximately 6 crore Indian hold valid passports.
Indian citizens residing in India and abroad and holding
such passports with validity beyond the 24th November, 2015
are advised to apply for re-issue of their passports well
before
the deadline in order to avoid any inconvenience in
obtaining
valid visa or international travel.
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Reference:
http://passportindia.gov.in/AppOnlineProject/pdf/Public_Advisory.pdf
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