DHAKA: The ministry of external affairs will discontinue the India-Bangladesh Passport (IBP) service from November 15, 2013.

However, the passports already issued will remain valid till their expiry.

No new applications for IBP will be accepted by any of the state governments, who were earlier delegated with the power to do so.

The ministry has said that all applications received on or before November 15 should be processed and issued expeditiously.

Regional passport officer Geetika Srivastava said, "This is an outcome of the deal of Revised Travel Arrangement (RTA) between India and Bangladesh. The arrangement was signed on January 28, 2013.”

IBP was introduced as a special travel document on August 1972 to facilitate travel between India and Bangladesh. Over the years, the central government delegated the power of issuing IBPs to the state governments of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura and West Bengal.

Source: TOI
BDST: 1232 HRS, NOV 12, 2013
SR/RS/BSK