- India’s Ministry for Promotion of Industries launches new digital platform.
- Companies can generate sponsorship letters to invite foreign professionals.
- Visa forms are simplified and additional ministry approvals are no longer required.
NEW DELHI: India has reformed its business visa regime to ease the movement of foreign engineers and technicians, the government said in a statement, which will encourage local companies to rely on Chinese professionals for their manufacturing services.
India’s Ministry for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade said late Wednesday that it 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 seek additional recommendations from relevant ministries.
Visas have been relaxed for factory installation, commissioning, maintenance and production, among other functions. Indian companies mainly rely on Chinese professionals for these services and to train local staff, especially in factories that deploy Chinese machinery.
Reuters reported last week that India had cut red tape to speed up visas for Chinese professionals, a sign of improving relations between the two countries.
India had blocked virtually all Chinese visits after clashes between its nuclear-armed neighbors on the Himalayan border in mid-2020, expanding its control of business visas 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 relations.
In the face of US tariffs, Modi has cautiously revived ties with Beijing.
The think tank Observer Research Foundation estimates that tighter visa controls have led to $15 billion in production losses over four years for Indian electronics makers, who import key machinery from China.
Large Chinese electronics companies, such as Xiaomi, have also had difficulty obtaining visas. Industry executives said such restrictions were hurting their expansion plans in India, while the solar industry was also hit by a shortage of skilled labor.
