India to offer E-visa to Foreign Nationals; they can now apply for Indian visa online. The move is expected to provide a big boost to Tourism.
The movie is seen as a significant push for the tourism sector, as Travelers can apply for a visa from the comfort of their homes and receive a visa within 72 hours. The e-visa facility will be offered to nationals of several countries, including US, Australia, Japan, Israel, Germany, Singapore, Russia, Ukraine, Brazil, UAE, Jordan, Kenya, Fiji, Finland, South Korea, Singapore, Mauritius, Mexico, Norway, Oman and the Philippines among others.
Assuring safe and secure tourism for foreign tourists, Indian home minister said that they wanted to promote tourism in the country in a big way, and want to double the contribution of tourism towards India’s GDP.
The electronic travel authorization (ETA) will be valid for 30 days and the visa fee has been fixed at $62. Those traveling on leisure, short duration medical treatment, casual business visit or to meet friends and relatives will be eligible to apply. The facility will be made available at nine airports including Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Kochi, Goa, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Thiruvanathapuram.
“Currently, we have included 43 countries in the first phase. Barring those who are ‘high-risk’ countries, we will extend this facility to almost every country in the world phase-wise,” Home Minister Rajnath Singh said.
Experts believe that its a a historic day for tourism sector and will dramatically change the tourism scenario in India.
Highlighting the importance of the scheme, Indian Association of Tour Operators President Subhash Goyal said, “We have been demanding this facility for long. The launch of e-visa system for so many countries will boost the industry and we hope foreign tourist arrivals will reach the seven million mark this year.”
Source: TimesofIndia
