Machine-readable passport to be introduced by August
The government will introduce Machine Readable Passport (MRP) by August to prevent passport forgery and the use of fake passport for illegal migration and trafficking in women and children.
About 5,00,000 MRPs will be issued in the first phase, according to Home Ministry sources.
There will be a central database under the strict supervision of the home ministry to preserve details of each MRP holders. This database will provide information about the passport holders for various purposes -- travelling, casting vote, job application, police verification, admission in educational institutions and other multi-functional services.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. Meanwhile, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) has initiated several training programmes for the officials of the Passport and Immigration Department on how to use the computer technology developed for MRP.