Tourists that arrive in India might no longer require standing in long queues as the government of India has decided to position more immigration officials at all the international airports.
According to the sources, the Home Ministry has started the recruitment process of additional immigration officials. This induction would result in decline in queues at the airports.
There are around 21 international airports in India, which includes, Mumbai, Delhi, Amritsar, Srinagar, Jaipur, Guwahati, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Port Blair, and Chennai.
The airports in Mumbai, Delhi, Kochi, and Goa have been witnessing lengthy queues at the counters for immigration during the peak hours.
According to the sources, many complaints have been received regarding the long queues at the counters of immigration at Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA). They also said that the decision for recruiting the individuals would assist in minimizing the work load from existing staff.
The Ministry for Home has been implementing the measures for ensuring hassle free exit and entry for the foreigners and Indians into the country without compromising the security.
A new form for immigration purpose has been introduced which is having fewer fields that are required by the passenger for filling. The requirement of filling up the form for immigration when the passenger is returning back has also been ended away with.
Presently there are around 5,000 immigration officials working all over India. With the latest inductions, the number of employees will be significantly increased.
The rise in number of immigration officials would help in organizing smooth flow of tourists which is expected to rise up due to the e-tourist visas.
In the previous year, India had launched the facility of e-tourist visa for over 40 countries which also includes the US.
Currently, India is offering the facility of e-tourist visa for the citizens of 113 nations, and it is also planning to increase the numbers to 150 nations by 31st March 2016.
Between the month of January and May, around 1,10,657 tourists arrived in India on e-tourist visa when compared to only 9,841 people during the same period in the previous year, recording the increase of 1,024.4%.
