The Ministry of External Affairs issued a statement regarding the decision to continue with the current blue passports for all general sections after ‘comprehensive discussions.’ The statement comes weeks after announcing that Indian migrant labourers would be issued orange-coloured passports instead of the usual blue.
The announcement has reversed the January 12 decision in which the MEA had decided not to print the last page of the passport that contains names of the parents of the passport applicant, while also declaring that the covers of the ECR category passports that cater to migrant workers from India would be in orange instead of the usual blue. The MEA had clarified then that the decision to do away with the last page was taken following suggestions from an expert panel which aimed to make the passport more suitable for single parents. This decision however, had faced a lot of backlash especially from the opposition.
