Government of India has recently announced that Indian citizens living in India and abroad are advised to urgently replace their handwritten passports with machine-readable passports. The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) has set a deadline of the 24th November, 2015 for globally phasing out of all non-Machine Readable Passports (MRPs). Thereafter, foreign Governments may deny Visa or entry to any person travelling on a non-Machine Readable Passport.
If you are planning or are in the process of applying to study abroad and you have such a passport, then get it fixed immediately for a smooth transition.
Source: http://passportindia.gov.in/AppOnlineProject/pdf/HandwrittenPassport.pdf
