Hyderabad: Telangana Police received the Institutional Performance Award for State Police for excellence in passport verification services at Passport Seva Divas 2026 in New Delhi.
Director General of Police C.V. Anand received the award from Union External Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar on behalf of the department.
The Ministry of External Affairs honoured Telangana Police for its performance in passport verification services and recognised it as a model for other states.
Passport verification services earn national recognition
Meanwhile, Telangana Police received 7.87 lakh passport verification requests during the 2025-26 financial year.
Officials verified and processed 7.73 lakh applications. The department maintained an average turnaround time of less than seven days.
Further, the latest honour marked the seventh national-level award received by Telangana Police for passport services since 2014.
A key factor behind the achievement was VeriFast, a technology platform developed in 2014 when C.V. Anand served as Cyberabad Police Commissioner.
The department later implemented the system across Telangana. The platform integrates applicant information with CCTNS records, previous passport data and criminal databases.
Additionally, the AI-powered system helps officials quickly identify discrepancies and carry out accurate verification.
The application is available on Android and iOS platforms. Telangana Police plans to introduce a slot-booking feature in the future.
C.V. Anand credited field officers and staff for the achievement. He said their efforts ensured fast, transparent and citizen-centric passport verification services across the state.