New Delhi: India will provide visa on arrival (VoA) to visitors from 150 countries -- a sharp rise from the 43 countries now, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced Saturday.
"Last year VoA was issued to 43 countries. As tourism in the country has increased, I propose to increase the countries covered under this to 150," Jaitley said while presenting the Union Budget 2015-16 proposals in the Lok Sabha.
The government had eased Indian tourism visa regime through the expansion of VoA enabled by Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) and extended this facility to tourists from countries like the US, Israel, Palestine and Japan to boost tourism sector.
This hassle-free process has given a fillip to Indian tourism whose share in world tourism is a paltry 0.6 percent of international tourist arrivals compared to 7.8 percent in France and 6.4 percent in the US.
In the month of January, a total of 25,023 tourists arrived by availing VoA as compared to 1,903 last year, registering a growth of whooping 1,214.9 percent.
The ministry in a recent statement mentioned that this "high growth is due to introduction of ETA enabled VoA for 43 countries".
This facility allows entry of tourists into India within 30 days from the date of approval of ETA and is valid for 30 days stay from the date of arrival.
The tourists are allowed to enter and depart from nine international airports - Bengaluru, Chennai, Kochi, Delhi, Goa, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai and Thiruvananthapuram.
Comments
| Quick linksNews
National
International
Regional
Politics
Education & Career
Business
Science & Technology
Health
Views & Analysis
The Funny Side
© 2012 Awaz Multimedia & Publications. All rights reserved.
The finance minister said his government did not intend to do away with subsidies but target them better to achieve the goals. He also said some Rs.8.5 lakh crore will be provided to farmers in the form of credit, along with an allocation of Rs.5,300 crore for irrigation. .... More
Also Read: Kashmir, five other states to get AIIMS like institutes: Jaitley
According to the report in The Peninsula daily, the incident took place last week triggering a big controversy among a section of the expatriate Indian community who said the Photoshop caricature was an insult to Modi. .... More
Emphasising the importance of education, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) senior leader and Telangana legislator Akbaruddin Owaisi Friday while addressing a huge rally in Malegaon urged the crowd to build mosques with schools.... .... More
Also Read: Akbaruddin Owaisi takes a jibe at 'bachelors' Rahul Gandhi, RSS members
Excerpted from "Qur'anic Paradigms of Sciences and Society" Volume 1: Dynamic Paradigm of Health
At that time, my suggestion was laughed off. Now even the WHO has recognised it as an important part in the strategy to combat AIDS. With the advance of Sexual Revolution it can be expected that newer infections will continue to haunt humans; and .... More
Even at that time most of the people had hesitatingly sided with the Sheikh Abdullah under the belief that he would lead them to the ultimate goal of freedom. However, the government soon became. . ... More
A ten-year-old Palestinian boy from Gaza, despite suffering from autism - a disorder of brain development, experience difficulties in social interaction, verbal and nonverbal communication and repetitive behaviors, has memorized the Holy Quran in. .... More
Also Read: Saudi King Salman had memorized entire Quran at the age of 12
The Mumbai Muslim leaders had to face an awkward situation Wednesday when Eknath Khadse, Minister of Awkaf and Minority Development Department in Maharashtra, questioned their silence over the conduct of successive Congress .... More
Also Read: Handle with care: Vajpayee aide to Fadnavis on Ismail Yusuf College