For outstation students in the city who hope to go abroad for further education or job opportunities, the Regional Passport Office (RPO) has just made the process friendlier and less expensive by drastically reducing fines for incorrect address details.

Outstation students applying for a passport often have trouble producing address details and proof, a complication which used to cost them a fine of Rs 5,000 each time. Since Monday however, the RPO has slashed the fine by 90 per cent, reducing it to Rs 500.