Prelims: Current events of national and international importance | Economy
Why in News?
The Union Ministry of Home Affairs under the Government of India notifies 11 more international ports.
It includes 09 land ports and 02 airports.
The newly added land ports are Darranga, Gede, Ghojadanga, Haridaspur, Jaigaon, Dawki, Moreh, and Attari (Road), along with the airports in Bhopal and Tirupati.
It will further enhance attractiveness and utility of electronic visa.
India provides approximately 95% E-visas applications in less than 72 hours.
Total number of International Ports for E-Visa holder foreigners’ entry now goes up to 88.
One significant step taken to liberalize and simplify the Indian Visa regime, especially the tourist visa regime, is the introduction of the e-Visa facility.
E-visa facility, with Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA), was introduced in 2014 for nationals of 43 countries.
This facility is presently available to nationals of 172 countries.
India now issues about 78 per cent visas as electronic visas.
E-visa is currently available under 17 sub-categories, including mountaineering and group visas for cruise.
International travellers holding a Pakistani passport or of Pakistani origin must apply for a regular visa at an Indian Mission, as the e-visa facility is not available to them.
