- Indian Industry Promotion Department launches new digital platform.
- Companies can generate sponsorship letters to invite foreign professionals.
- Visa forms have been simplified and additional ministerial approvals are no longer needed.
NEW DELHI: India has reformed its business visa regime to facilitate the movement of foreign engineers and technicians, the government said in a statement, which will be a boost for local companies that depend on Chinese professionals for manufacturing services.
India’s Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade said late Wednesday that it had launched a new digital platform last month for companies to generate sponsorship letters to invite foreign professionals, has simplified visa forms and will no longer ask for additional recommendations from relevant ministries.
Visas have been made more flexible for factory installation, commissioning, maintenance and production, among other functions. Indian companies predominantly rely on Chinese professionals for such services and to train local staff, especially in factories that use Chinese machinery.
Reuters reported last week that India has reduced bureaucracy to expedite visas for Chinese professionals in signs of improved relations between the two nations.
India had blocked virtually all Chinese visits after the nuclear-armed neighbors clashed on their Himalayan border in mid-2020, expanding its business visa probe beyond the home and foreign ministries.
The removal of red tape comes after Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited China this year for the first time in seven years, meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping and discussing ways to improve ties.
Faced with punishment from US tariffs, Modi has cautiously rekindled ties with Beijing.
The Observer Research Foundation think tank estimates that stricter scrutiny on visas caused production losses of $15 billion over four years for Indian electronics makers, which import key machinery from China.
Major Chinese electronics companies, such as Xiaomi, have also had difficulty obtaining visas. Industry executives have said such restrictions affected their expansion plans in India, while the solar industry was also hit by a shortage of skilled labor.
