
Telangana's VeriFast app sets national benchmark in passport verification
The Telangana Police have secured the top rank in passport verification efficiency across all Indian States, owing to their digital platform VeriFast. This recognition comes ahead of Passport Seva Divas on June 24, when Director General of Intelligence B. Shivadhar Reddy will receive the Certificate of Excellence in New Delhi from the Minister of External Affairs.
The VeriFast application was developed to streamline passport verification and has placed Telangana at the forefront of technological innovation in public service. The State consistently records the fastest average turnaround time (TAT) for verifications, often completing the process in under three working days, ahead of national requirements.
According to national data, Telangana processes more than 2,000 passport verifications daily, with annual figures exceeding eight lakh. The system records over 95% satisfaction among applicants, thanks to its transparency, reliability, and real-time SMS updates. Most police stations report zero backlog due to dynamic reassignment and balanced workload distribution.
VeriFast integrates with the State's intelligence databases to detect and prevent fraudulent applications. It follows a tiered workflow involving Field Verification Officers, Inspectors or Assistant Commissioners of Police, and Passport Verification Cells, ensuring accuracy and accountability.
The platform works across Android, iOS, Windows, and Linux, eliminating the need for expensive hardware. Future upgrades will allow applicants to schedule verification slots, making the process more convenient. Its data analytics feature helps the police monitor verification trends, identify suspicious activity, and aid in crime analysis, including detecting illegal emigration rackets.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Time of India
19 minutes ago
- Time of India
S4 Capital's Monks India welcomes Sandipan Bhattacharyya as India head
HighlightsSandipan Bhattacharyya has been appointed as the India head of creative at Monks, the digital agency of S4 Capital, to lead its creative vision and oversee an integrated team serving both Indian and global brands. Bhattacharyya, with over two decades of experience in the advertising industry and a track record of winning over 120 international and national awards, will enhance Monks India's creative output while deepening the integration of technology and creativity. This strategic appointment is part of a broader shift at Monks India to reinforce its positioning as a creative-tech partner, with Bhattacharyya collaborating with Ketan Desai and John Paite to deliver innovative solutions for marketers. In a move that signals its intent to redefine creative excellence for the modern Indian marketer, Monks, the global, purely digital, data-driven, unitary operating brand of S4 Capital , has appointed Sandipan Bhattacharyya as its India head - creative. Bhattacharyya joins the agency to lead its creative vision, overseeing an integrated team serving both Indian and global brands. His arrival marks a significant milestone for Monks India as it sharpens its positioning as a new-age creative-tech partner , one that pairs data-driven insights and cutting-edge tech with boundary-pushing ideas. Bhattacharyya said, 'Monks are redefining the agency model for a new era - where creativity, data and technology come together seamlessly. That convergence is where the most exciting ideas are being born. While most agency networks are reacting to the future of creative tech, Monks has built its business around it. 'I'm thrilled to be part of a team that's genuinely future-facing. This is a space where we can stretch creative ambition while solving for real brand and business impact ,' he added. Bhattacharyya has steered some of India's most iconic work over a two-decade career spanning Saatchi & Saatchi, BBDO, and most recently Grey South Asia, where he served as chief creative officer. His body of work has earned over 120 international and national recognitions, including Cannes Lions, D&AD Pencils, One Show, Clio, Spikes Grand Prix and APAC Effies. Notably, Bhattacharyya helped bring home India's first Entertainment Lions for Music, shaping industry benchmarks in culture-first creativity. At Monks India, Bhattacharyya will lead the creative output across the agency's country portfolio, which includes Amazon, Tata Tea, Bajaj and a growing set of progressive Indian and global brands. His remit includes scaling the team, deepening integration between tech and creative, and building a culture of experimentation, excellence and craft. 'Sandipan joining us is a game-changing moment,' said Ketan Desai , managing director, India, who came on board earlier this year. 'He brings not just pedigree, but a future-facing mindset. He understands that creativity today must be adaptive, intelligent and deeply connected to business outcomes. Together, we're building a new creative model that doesn't separate storytelling from systems thinking.' Bhattacharyya's appointment is part of a larger strategic shift underway at Monks India. Known for its real-time production capabilities, AI-driven workflows , and strategic tech innovations, the agency is now doubling down on creativity to deliver holistic solutions for marketers facing an increasingly complex media and cultural landscape. To further reinforce this dual leadership, John Paite, who has long helmed creative-tech innovation for the company, will take on the expanded role of creative head – tech and innovation. With Paite continuing to lead the hub's cutting-edge tech and innovation work, and Bhattacharyya steering creative direction, Monks India is set to offer clients a unified and elevated approach that blends creative magic with tech muscle, the press note stated. "We are thrilled to welcome Sandipan to the Monks family. His exceptional experience and strategic insight will drive a new era of creative thought leadership across the agency. Together with Ketan and John, Sandipan will play a pivotal role in scaling Monks India to new heights, pushing boundaries, and setting new standards of innovation and excellence," said Kenny Griffiths, executive vice president, Monks APAC.


Mint
22 minutes ago
- Mint
Phillip Capital flags growth risks for Dixon Tech amid rising competition; lowers target price to ₹9085
Dixon Technologies share price in focus: Shares of Dixon Technologies tumbled 2.5% in Wednesday's trade (June 25), falling to ₹ 14,585 apiece, even as the broader Indian stock market traded in positive territory. This drop in one of the country's leading EMS (Electronics Manufacturing Services) companies came after global brokerage firm Phillip Capital downgraded its estimates for Dixon, citing rising competition in the mobile phone assembly space. According to the brokerage, Dixon's largest client, Motorola, has started outsourcing domestic volumes to Karbonn, which currently accounts for 25% of Motorola's monthly volume, a figure expected to rise to 35% by June. As part of its diversification strategy, Motorola has been actively expanding its supplier base. Motorola contributes approximately 40% of Dixon's mobile phone volumes but nearly 72% of its mobile phone revenues. Dixon had significantly benefited from Motorola's market share gains in the Indian smartphone market in CY24 compared to CY23. When Motorola was a smaller player in CY23, Dixon handled its entire manufacturing. As Motorola has achieved scale, it has started outsourcing some of its volumes to Karbonn to diversify its supply chain, said Phillip Capital. It is worth noting that Karbonn itself is a recipient of mobile phone PLI and, therefore, can be cost-competitive in the mobile phone assembly space. The brokerage noted the company's exports have ramped up in the last few months, but domestic volume gain by Karbonn means Dixon's YoY growth from Motorola will be capped at 15% at best. In addition to Motorola, Dixon's second-largest client, Longcheer, has also begun diversifying its supply chain. While Dixon's volumes from Longcheer have grown over the past year, the client outsourced a small portion (2%) to Karbonn in May CY25. Though currently modest, Phillip Capital believes this could scale up quickly, following a pattern similar to Motorola's shift. Motorola initially outsourced just 1–2% of its volumes to Karbonn in February CY25, which jumped to 30% by May. On a more positive note, Dixon and Vivo entered into a 51:49 joint venture (JV) for mobile phone manufacturing in December CY24. The JV, which is currently awaiting regulatory approval, is expected to begin contributing to Dixon's topline by FY27. Management anticipates that the JV will handle two-thirds of Vivo India's mobile phone volumes. Based on a proportional volume-to-value ratio, the JV could generate revenue of ₹ 160 billion at optimal utilization, with Dixon's share estimated at ₹ 80 billion. Phillip Capital has lowered its revenue, EBITDA, and PAT estimates for Dixon Technologies for FY27 by 4%, 6%, and 9%, respectively, to reflect the intensifying competition in the mobile phone assembly space. Dixon shares its PLI (Production Linked Incentive) benefits with its mobile phone clients, which is currently offset by favorable Net Working Capital (NWC) terms. However, once the mobile phone PLI scheme ends, the brokerage expects Dixon's NWC days to trend toward 35+, in line with peers—Foxconn's stood at 40+ in CY24—which could lead to a declining RoCE trajectory. Factoring this in, Phillip Capital has also revised its valuation multiple, cutting the PE multiple from 50x to 45x FY27 EPS of ₹ 202, resulting in a revised target price of ₹ 9,085, down from the earlier target of ₹ 11,077.


India Today
26 minutes ago
- India Today
Poco F7 review: Fast, furious, and a double threat to rivals
Truth be told, I did not expect Poco to come this far. I am sure that many of you who are reading this didn't either. Some of you might not even have heard of it until today. If you have, it could be that you still don't know everything about it. The smartphone world is large and dynamic. Not everybody knows everybody. Players come and go. People mostly have their favourites, and they usually stick with that, unless told otherwise, which is when something comes out of nothing and blows their mind away in ways they didn't think or imagine. It's a perception thing. It can change. But it is Poco spun out of Xiaomi in the middle of 2018, it was one of the biggest surprise stories of that year, at least for tech-savvy Indian consumers. People love good deals and Poco promised them a deal they couldn't refuse with the Poco F1. They had absolutely no idea it was possible to put the fastest chip around inside a Rs 20,999 phone. They didn't know what to call it. (They still don't.) Poco was basically running laps around OnePlus and beating it at its own game in a way Xiaomi couldn't. But the world of smartphones isn't kind to one-hit wonders. Persistence pays the bills. Somehow, it was different for ode to a classicThe Poco F1 was perhaps so ahead of its time, Poco couldn't figure out how to make a true sequel that was as good if not better. It came to a point where everyone started to think and believe (and accept), it would never happen – but Poco kept saying, never say never. The brand even launched other phones like the Poco X3 Pro in the interim and pitched them as a standby replacement. It is crazy how one phone was able to create such an impact. It is now 2025, and we're well past a few F-series phones (Poco F3 GT in 2021, Poco F4 in 2022, Poco F5 in 2023, and Poco F6 in 2024), and yet, a true Poco F1 successor, eludes us. Maybe some things are not meant to be replaced. But I digress. Poco F7 has a glass back. advertisementPoco has now launched the Poco F7 in India. It has all the underpinnings of your typical F-series phone. The choice of chip is right up there as one of its biggest selling points. But while the Poco F1 featured the fastest chip on the block of its time, subsequent models have come with slightly less powerful hardware. The upside was, modern-day Poco was usually able to give people the first dibs at a new chip, and it was almost always flagship-level. For Poco F6, it was the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3, for instance. But with Poco F7, that is not the case. It has the latest Snapdragon 8s Gen 4, but Poco is not the first to use it. It was iQOO with the iQOO Neo all fairness, it doesn't matter who got there first, but brands – even Poco – do tend to exaggerate this aspect far more aggressively than you'd think, so, it is only befitting to mention the times when they don't. That's just how fast things move now, and I am sure that Poco knows it well, given how it once called out peers for failing to catch up with the performance of the Poco F1 after 30 odd months, a period it likened to a lifetime. It took time, but rivals have caught up. Poco can't rely on past laurels alone. The future is wide open. The frame is made of metal. Of course, Poco knows this and so, it has come prepared with not one but two big features. The chip is one. The other is the battery. The Poco F7 has a 7,550mAh battery, which is by far the biggest we've seen on any smartphone in India to date. (Poco could have gone with a smaller 6,500mAh like it has in other markets, but I reckon that competition made it step things up.) The value of 'Silicon-Carbon' cannot be overstated and while it is still early days, the benefits far outweigh any concern potentially creeping up in your mind when you picture such a mind-boggling number and look at how slim and light some of these phones can be. Stuff like this makes it seem like anything is when it works the way it is supposed to work, you get a sense of great wonder and joy, and then you sit back and say to yourself, maybe this is all you ever wanted from your smartphone. It is one of the things you expect – when brands throw jacked-up spec-sheets at you – but more often, your expectations are not met, or they are half met, and you realise that you were taken for a ride. You paid hard-earned money for something. It is obvious to expect your money's worth at the very F7: Performance and batteryThe Poco F7 is one of those rare phones that delivers more bang for each buck you spend on it. Performance across the board is simply off the charts. Everything from day-to-day tasks to graphics-intensive gaming is a walk in the park for this phone. The Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 works as advertised here, proving Qualcomm's approach to offering top-tier performance at relatively rock-bottom prices is working. It follows hot on the heels of the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 (seen on the Poco F6), bringing notable gains which - per Qualcomm - could be as high as 49 percent in the case of the it is technically an 8-series chip, it is supposed to go hard and push the limits, meaning that two things are a dead-given. It is superfast, and it runs hot when pushed. If anything, it can run slightly hotter because it doesn't have any 'little' efficiency cores quite in the literal sense. It has only performance cores (1xCortex X4 prime core clocked at 3.21GHz and 7xCortex A720 clocked at different frequencies), which is also why it has good multicore/threaded performance. The phone is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 chip. advertisementBut you've got to know that it isn't as fast as the Snapdragon 8 Elite. It isn't as fast (or feature-packed) as the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 either, but it can get close enough – and that's the point. Brands can choose to price their phones differently, but phones with 8s Gen 4 can go for as low as Rs 30,000. Something like this wasn't possible before. Poco is giving generous amounts of RAM and storage as well: 12GB (LPDDR5X) and up to 512GB (UFS4.1). The iQOO Neo 10 may go neck and neck but Poco has undercut it in pricing, making it the undisputed winner as far as a value proposition is life is phenomenal. The phone chugs through a day and a half easily with a mix of moderate and heavy use, outclassing competition in big and meaningful ways. There is support for 90W fast charging and 22.5W reverse charging, which turns the phone into a fast and portable power bank to charge other devices, a quality-of-life thing you start to appreciate over F7: Design, display, software and camerasWhat makes the Poco F7 stand out even more is how it doesn't go about just chasing raw numbers. While previously, you could write these phones off as one-trick ponies meant for only the most serious of gamers in the business, now they have other tricks up their sleeve. The Poco F7 has a stunning glass and metal design boasting premium materials like Gorilla Glass 7i and top-tier IP68/IP69 water Poco F1 had a wonky, utilitarian design, while the F7 could fit just as easily anywhere and everywhere, with its dapper looks and slick form factor. Poco has tried to please both parties, gamers and casual users alike, but regardless of the colour you go for (white, black, or the 'limited edition' cyber silver), be prepared for a mirror-like finish which is prone to smudge easily (a silicon case is provided in the box). It's impressive how Poco keeps coming up with new designs generation after generation, and yet, manages to eke out a styling that is instantly recognisable. There is no way you can confuse it with another phone. The bezels are kept minimal. The screen size has been bumped up. It is 6.83 inches (up from 6.67- on the Poco F6) and it can get brighter, particularly when watching HDR content (3200 nits vs 2400 nits). Up to Dolby Vision is supported. Panel-wise, it is as high-end as high-end gets at this price. Poco is using a p-OLED display with 1.5K resolution and up to 120Hz refresh rate, though not LTPO. Some people might buy into the idea of a bigger phone, but some prefer smaller ones, too. Poco doesn't have an answer for that yet. The same way, there is absolutely no logic behind why it chose to go with the same cameras as last Poco F7 has the same exact specs, which means that it has only a single usable camera – a 50-megapixel Sony IMX882 with f/1.5 aperture lens with OIS. It has its moments which is when it shoots pleasing photos with good detail and generally wide dynamic range but, it's not a good look for a phone that's basically throwing everything but the kitchen sink in almost every other department. The 8-megapixel ultrawide and 20-megapixel selfie cameras feel like an it is good to see that things have improved. The Poco F7 runs the latest Hyper OS 2.0 with Android 15. There is some bloat, but the overall experience is smooth and, might I add, surprising. There are no weird bugs or anything and no hassles in multitasking. Optimisation is mostly on point. And if AI catches your fancy, there are a bunch of conveniences, from writing tools to real-time translations available at your beck and call. Poco is committing to four years of major OS and six years of security updates with this you buy the Poco F7?Look, the Poco F1 was an outlier. Very few phones have come to hold a cult status like that. Even fewer will get there, in the near and distant future, maybe. But that is okay. What matters is, if that legacy lives on, so people who want a phone like that – one that is both fast and furious without breaking the bank – can call upon a certain Poco – or iQOO, or OnePlus, what have you – and be rest assured, they have the changes everything. The same is true with smartphones in 2025. What was pure unbelievable excess in 2018 is what people expect, like clockwork, even take for granted, today. So, a phone brand must meet those requirements. Whether it can deliver on those expectations while keeping the legacy alive is the challenge. The Poco F7 offers great value. The Poco F7 pulls through that challenge with flying colours, and head held high. It is a sign of a confident new Poco that, when you consider it in all its totality, demands respect and adulation, for a brand that not many still don't know enough about. The Poco F7 has a lot of competition, but it walks into a room and owns it in ways no other Poco phone has. Not even the Poco F1. That phone is a legend, and it will always stay that way. This one, with its exhaustive feature set and aggressive pricing (Rs 31,999 for 12GB/256GB and Rs 33,999 for 12GB/512GB), is a march into the future. That future is in good its powerhouse performance, stellar battery life, premium design, vibrant display, and strong software support, the Poco F7 is highly recommended for users who prioritise raw power and endurance at an unbeatable price. While the camera might not be its strongest suit, the sheer value offered in other key areas makes the Poco F7 a compelling and future-ready phone that demands your serious attention.- Ends