Syed Patel, a middle aged driver hailing from Gulbarga in the southern state of Karanataka, was the first Indian expatriate to receive a machine readable passport when the new system was introduced at the Consulate General of India yesterday. “I am thrilled to have the passport that is machine readable as it will be free of errors and fraud,” Patel told Arab News as he received his passport from Consul General Dr. Ausaf Sayeed.Yes, but does it have a religion column?
The new system was introduced in Riyadh in July last, more than a year after it was first introduced by any overseas Indian mission, in the UK, the consul general told a press conference later.