Hi mudjawd,
I am in the same boat, in the process of applying of PGWP with only one year of validity of passport. I was skeptical if trying to have a full PGWP is a valid reason for Tatkal or not, and your reply gave me some hope.
Since the cost of Tatkal scheme is hefty (~$300), could you please shed some light on the process? Specifically, do they approve the passport and then charge the fee (in this way, if the they don't approve, no fees is charged), or they charge the fee first and then verify the nature of emergency (if they deny the passport in this step for some reason, then $300 is gone)?