Union govt to resume granting tourist visas to boost economy
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New Delhi: The Union Government has decided to resume granting tourist visas to international travellers, NDTV reported. The government's move is to boost the economy through tourism by lifting the covid barrier for international travellers.
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) will restart granting fresh visas to foreigners coming to India from November 15, and those chartered flights will receive visas from October 15.
A senior MHA official said that the ministry has been receiving representations from several state governments and stakeholders in the tourism sector to restart granting visas. After deliberations, MHA decided to ease travel restrictions, the official said.
The official added that states have been asked to follow Covid protocols laid by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. The tourists, the carriers that bring them into India and other stakeholders also must stick to the guidelines.
The granting of visas will restart after it was suspended a year and a half ago due to Covid-19. In a statement, the MHA said that the decision was taken after consulting with stakeholders such as the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Ministry of External Affairs, Ministry of Civil Aviation, Ministry of Tourism and state governments.
After considering the evolving situation of the pandemic, the government had availed foreigners of any visa but tourist visas for entry and stay in India.
On Thursday, the Union Government said that the country's covid graph is plateauing, though nearly 20,000 cases are being reported every day across the country. But it added that the pandemic challenge is not over yet, and people should not lower their guards yet.