Women's U19 T20 World Cup: India thrash SA by 9 wickets to bag 2nd consecutive title

In a significant policy shift, the central government has amended the passport application process, making birth certificates the sole valid proof of date of birth for individuals born on or after October 1, 2023. This move aims to streamline documentation and ensure uniformity in age verification.

Mandatory Birth Certificate for New Applicants

The new rule, announced last week as part of the amended Passport Rules, will take effect after its publication in the official Gazette. As per a notification dated February 24, the Ministry of External Affairs has revised the requirements for submitting proof of date of birth when applying for a passport.

For individuals born on or after October 1, 2023, only birth certificates issued by the Municipal Corporation, the Registrar of Births and Deaths, or any other authorized body under the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969, will be accepted as valid proof of date of birth.

However, those born before this date can continue to submit alternative documents, including school transfer certificates, matriculation certificates, PAN cards, driving licenses, or extracts from service records.

Changes in Residential Information

To enhance privacy, applicants’ residential addresses will no longer be printed on the final page of passports. Instead, immigration officers will retrieve this information by scanning an embedded barcode.

New Colour-Coded Passports

The government has also introduced a colour-coding system for passports:

• White passports for government officials
• Red passports for diplomats
• Blue passports for ordinary citizens

Parental Information No Longer Required

Another major change is the removal of parents' names from the last page of the passport. This revision is aimed at protecting personal information, particularly for individuals from separated or split families.

Expansion of Passport Seva Kendras

To enhance accessibility, the government plans to increase the number of Post Office Passport Seva Kendras (POPSKs) from 442 to 600 over the next five years. The Department of Posts and the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) have extended their Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to facilitate this expansion, ensuring continued passport services at POPSKs.

Officials noted that passport rules regarding date of birth had not been updated for a long time, largely because many rural residents lacked birth certificates. However, with stricter enforcement of the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969, birth certificates have now become the only recognized proof for those born after October 1, 2023.

These sweeping changes mark a significant update in India’s passport application process, reinforcing security, privacy, and efficiency in document verification.

Mangaluru: The Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) has urged the Karnataka government to allocate Rs 3,000 crore in the 2025 state budget for the development of the tourism sector in Dakshina Kannada. This demand was made as part of the party’s ‘Janata Budget – 2025’ initiative.

Anwar Sadath S, president of SDPI’s Mangaluru Rural district unit, emphasized the district’s vast tourism potential, given its location between the Western Ghats and the Arabian Sea. He suggested projects such as beach development, walking tracks, play zones, amusement parks, and other recreational activities to boost tourism in the region.

In addition to tourism development, SDPI has called for several key initiatives in the state budget:

•    Establishment of a government medical college and a super-specialty hospital in Dakshina Kannada.

•    Setting up a High Court bench and a government law college in the district.

•    Development of an IT Park to boost employment opportunities.

•    Minimum support price for arecanut and a dedicated research centre for arecanut diseases.

•    Expansion of healthcare facilities, including a branch of the Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences and Research in Mangaluru.

•    Construction of residential accommodation for Muslim religious leaders serving in mosques and madrasas.

•    A special financial package for paddy farmers, offering Rs 2 lakh per acre as financial assistance.

Sadath criticized previous administrations for neglecting Dakshina Kannada, despite the district being one of the top tax contributors in Karnataka. He highlighted the dominance of private entities in education, healthcare, and business, stressing the need for greater government support in public amenities and welfare schemes.

SDPI urged Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to ensure adequate budgetary allocations for new projects, job creation, education, healthcare, and social welfare programs. The party insisted that the upcoming budget, to be presented on March 7, should prioritize balanced regional development across all districts.

The Trump administration has given the go-ahead for a nearly $3 billion arms sale to Israel, sidestepping the standard congressional review process to expedite the delivery of 2,000-pound bombs widely used by the Israeli military in its ongoing onslaught in the Gaza Strip.

In a series of notifications sent to Congress on Friday, the State Department has reported it has approved the sale of more than 35,500 MK 84 and BLU-117 bombs and 4,000 Predator warheads worth $2.04 billion to Israel.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio “has determined and provided detailed justification that an emergency exists that requires the immediate sale to the Government of Israel of the above defense articles and defense services in the national security interests of the United States, thereby waiving the Congressional review requirements,” the department said.

Deliveries are set to begin next year, it said.

According to the same statement, Rubio has also approved another munitions sale to Israel worth $675.7 million to be delivered starting in 2028.

The Israeli regime has extensively used the MK 84, also known as the 2,000-pound bomb, in its genocidal wars against the people of Lebanon and Palestine, including the assassination of top Hamas and Hezbollah leaders.

Last May, the previous US administration attempted to curb Israel’s military aggression in Rafah, a city in southern Gaza, by imposing a temporary ban on the sale of 2,000-pound bombs.

This effort, however, proved futile in halting the invasion, as the US continued to supply other weapons to the Israeli regime.

On February 25, Trump’s National Security Adviser, Michael Waltz, rescinded the ban to allow the State Department to resume the sale of the bombs to the regime.

The State Department has also approved the sale of Caterpillar D9 Bulldozers and related equipment for an estimated cost of $295 million to Israel.

The Israeli regime has used D9 bulldozers to demolish thousands of Palestinian homes in the occupied West Bank and Gaza.

The Office of the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights has advised Caterpillar Inc. that by supplying the bulldozers to the regime, it is complicit in human rights violations.

D9 has been involved in several incidents of civilian deaths, including in 2023 when it was used against the refugees sheltering outside the Kamal Adwan Hospital.