Recently, Indian Ministry of External Affairs withdrew the following proposals: (1) To issue orange color jackets for passports requiring emigration checks (ECR) and (2) Discontinue printing of address, parents and spouse information on last page.

Ministry of External Affairs proposed the plan of issuing orange colored passports for those who require emigration checks (ECR) and to discontinue the last page, which is used as a valid address proof in early January 2018. An ECR passport is issued if s/he has not completed 10th grade or equivalent education in India. These passport holders must obtain “Emigration Clearance” from the Protector of Emigrants, Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs if s/he intends to take employment in certain countries.

In a recent press release dated January 30, 2018, the Ministry of External Affairs withdrew this proposal. This release comes in the light of public interest litigation challenging the government’s proposed policy and strong opposition from the public. Further, the Kerala High Court issued notice to central government questioning the invasion of fundamental right to privacy, dignity, and principle of equality under the Indian Constitution. This press release can be found here.