Private hands to clear visa pile

The MEA hopes outsourcing some key services will cut the time lag, reports Nilova Roy Chaudhury.

To meet the huge demand for visas from tourists, businessmen and patients wanting to visit India, the Ministry of External Affairs has begun outsourcing visa applications and collections to private agencies. The MEA hopes outsourcing some key services will cut the time lag and deflect some of the flak it faces.

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Though visa applications are filtered through a local agency in Islamabad, the distinction for being the first mission where visa applications and collections have been outsourced to private agencies goes to Dhaka, where the process began in December 2005. Dhaka faces a massive demand for visas from those wanting to visit India for pilgrimage, treatment and shopping.

Either Rome or Madrid is being considered to shortly begin outsourcing of visa applications and collections.

The Tourism Ministry claims India lags in tourist inflows because visas are not issued fast enough. The Home Ministry, citing security concerns, is not keen on the process of issuing visas on arrival for tourists, a practice in countries like Thailand and Sri Lanka, so the burden falls on the Indian embassies abroad. The MEA claims its staff strength in most missions is nowhere near the numbers required to meet the rapidly increasing demand.

While waiting for more hands to man the consular services, the missions have begun installing more computers and compatible software and "using the services of informati on technology," an official said, to make the process swifter.

While India is pilloried for the low level of incoming visitors (the figure was over three million in 2005), the MEA claims its limited staff strength does not permit a sudden spurt in issuing visas.