By Shivangi Acharya and Krishn Kaushik
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India is expected to speed up the process of issuing visas for Chinese technicians, three government officials said, as it looks to overcome delays at manufacturing units that have hindered investments running into billions of dollars.
After the nuclear-armed nations clashed on their Himalayan frontier in mid-2020, India blocked virtually all Chinese visitors, as well as investments from its neighbour, but is reconsidering its stand on visas as the losses pile up.
The plan to hasten visa approvals is backed by the trade ministry and is being considered “positively” by the foreign ministry, despite its initial reservations over the four-year frost in ties with China, one of the officials said.
Domestic industry and government officials asked the foreign ministry to revisit the issue, said one official aware of the details, as the delays posed a challenge to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ambition to boost local manufacturing.
The officials sought anonymity as the decision has not yet been made public.
The trade ministry, home ministry, and foreign ministry did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment.
The government’s reluctance to approve visas stacked up production losses of $15 billion for the electronics manufacturing sector alone during the last four years, the Economic Times newspaper has said, citing an industry estimate.
The technicians are needed to operate Chinese-made machinery installed in Indian high-tech manufacturing units in industries ranging from telecoms to steel products and solar panels.
India received nearly 1,600 visa applications for Chinese technicians between last November and April this year, a government official said.
After the 2020 border clashes, India stepped up scrutiny of Chinese investments, halted planned projects, and shut down Chinese mobile apps.
Faster business visas will be issued for technicians needed to run Chinese-made machines installed in Indian factories in 14 sectors covered by a $24-billion scheme to spur production of high-tech electronics items, among others, the officials said.
A new fast-track portal will be set up to cut the time for visa approval decisions to less than a month, from a year now, one of the officials said.
The visa would permit stays of up to six months for the Chinese technicians, another official added.
(Reporting by Shivangi Acharya and Krishn Kaushik; Additional reporting by Sarita Chaganti Singh and Neha Arora in New Delhi; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
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