An Indian entrepreneur and researcher based in Germany has caught the internet’s attention after comparing his experience of renewing an Indian passport with dealing with Berlin’s local bureaucracy, saying the Indian process felt surprisingly efficient despite involving international coordination.
Taking to X, Mayukh Panja wrote that renewing his Indian passport and German residence permit made him appreciate how India manages logistics at scale. “There is something deeply impressive about how India handles logistics at scale,” he wrote.
Panja shared that it took him 30 days to secure an appointment at the Indian Embassy in Berlin. After submitting his documents, he received his new passport in around 6 weeks.
The entrepreneur said that the process involved coordination between the passport office in Kolkata, local police verification at his permanent residence in the city, and the printing of passports in India before being shipped to embassies abroad.
“Passports are not printed at the Embassy. They are printed in India and then flown to embassies around the world. This entire international affair with cross border movement of physical documents was done in 6 weeks,” he wrote.
In comparison, Panja said that it took him 6 weeks just to get an appointment at Berlin’s Foreigner’s Office, while printing the new residence card itself would take another 8 weeks.
“I know a lot of stuff doesn’t work, but sometimes I cannot help but be amazed at how vast and sprawling our democracy, both literally and metaphorically, is and it is somehow still not falling apart,” he added.
In a follow-up comment, Panja reflected on reactions to his views about India.
“I sometimes express cautious optimism about India. Cautious because I know many things are not okay. Optimistic because I have seen a lot of positive change in my lifetime,” he wrote. “but simply being cautiously optimistic about india tends to rub a lot of people the wrong way, especially english speaking urban indians,” he added.
(Also Read: Indian man says Germany’s 40-hour work week made him more productive than in India: ‘I was working in chaos’)
Social media reactions
The post drew reactions from several users, including Capitalmind CEO Deepak Shenoy, who shared his own experience with passport renewal in India.
“6 weeks! I got my passport renewed in 4 days, living in India, without Tatkal. Also very impressive for this scale,” Shenoy commented.
Panja replied, “Indeed, but we don’t have the Tatkal option here.”
Other users compared the experience with bureaucracy in European countries.
“Same in Portugal, could not get appointment for 6 months and had to go to India to get the passport and complete all the process in 5 days flat. It is amazing how a country that prides in technology applications in government is so far behind on these in many countries,” one user wrote.
“If it is domestic, passports are issued or renewed in 3 to 5 days . This is under normal processing . In tatkal , you may get it next day I guess. This process has become so efficient that the only glitch now is the ₹500 bribe that needs to be paid to the policeman visit,” commented another.
“Of course, German bureaucracy is a pain point, not just for expats but in general. In India, passports can be received even the same day which is impossible in Germany,” wrote a third user.
