NEW DELHI: External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj on Tuesday launched a new scheme under which a person can apply for a passport from anywhere in India irrespective of the place of stay.

The minister also launched a mobile application, available in Android and iOS platforms, that would have the facilities for applying, paying and scheduling appointments for acquiring a passport.

Under the new scheme, launched on the occasion of the Sixth Passport Seva Divas, a person can now choose the Regional Passport Office (RPO) and the Passport Seva Kendra (PSK) or Post Office Passport Seva Kendra (POPSK) for submitting the application.

The application can be submitted irrespective of whether the person's present residential address was within the jurisdiction of the selected RPO or not, a ministry of external affairs (MEA) statement said.

The police verification, if required for a specific passport, would be conducted at the address specified in the application form, it said.

The passport will be printed and despatched by the RPO selected for application submission by the applicant to the address specified in the application, the statement said.

For example, a resident of Jaipur, who is temporarily residing in Kolkata, will now be able to apply at a PSK or POPSK under the RPO, Kolkata, and will not have to travel all the way back to Jaipur to submit an application for a passport at a PSK or POPSK under the Jaipur RPO.

This citizen-centric initiative of the ministry is expected to benefit the applicants who are unable to apply at a PSK or POPSK near their ordinary place of residence, the statement said.

With the launch of the 'mPassport Seva App', a person would not require access to a computer and printer to apply for a passport, the MEA said.