Sri Lanka and Pakistan only and were not valid for travel to other foreign countries. Both India and Bangladesh stopped issuing the Indo-Bangladesh Passport in 2013 due to changes in ICAO regulations. Tatkaal and SVPTatkaal Passports (for urgent needs), and Short Validity Passport (SVP) are also available and these are likely considered Ordinary Passports'' once issued. e-Passports The need for e-Passports (or Biometric passport) in India was realised in the late 2010s. Till early 2022, the government issued 20,000 official and diplomatic e-passports, but not to ordinary citizens of India. The government had issued the first e-passport to former President of India, Pratibha Patil in 2008. The Union government officially announced to roll out e-passports on the lines of international standards for Indian citizens in the 2022-23 fiscal year. The Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the same during the Union Budget 2022 address to the Loksabha. ICAO compliant passports with embedded electronic chip and digital inlays have been aimed for speedy immigration checks and high security. For the roll out of e-Passports, the Ministry of External Affairs entered into a contract with the Tata Consultancy Services. This has been officially termed as Passport Seva Programme V2.0. Physical appearance Early passports dating back to the British Empire were handwritten; in addition, more than a hundred thousand handwritten passports were issued between 1997 and 2000 with 20-year validity dates. These passports have been ruled invalid by the Indian government and holders must replace them with machine-readable versions with validity for 10 years due to ICAO regulations. Versions prior to 2021 had deep bluish cover with golden coloured printing. The Emblem of India emblazoned in the center of the front cover. The words भारत गणराज्य in Devanagari and REPUBLIC OF INDIA were inscribed below the Emblem whereas पासपोर्ट in Devanagari and PASSPORT in English were inscribed above the emblem. The latest version of 2021 has the official name of the country and "Passport" engravings' positions changed mutually. The passport has the passport number perforated. The pages have been re-designed. The standard passport contains 36 pages, but frequent travellers can opt for a passport containing 60 pages. Identity Information Page The Bio data page contains the following information: Type: P- Stands for "Personal", if it's a Diplomatic or Service passport then it listed as "D" or "S" Code: (listed as IND for "India") Nationality: Indian Passport number Surname Given name(s) Date of birth