Key points
- A NITI Aayog government report identifies strict visa requirements as the main obstacle to India's tourism growth.
- It proposes a 90-day visa-on-arrival option, expanding beyond the current Japan and South Korea eligibility.
- It also recommends consolidating India's nine eVisa sub-categories to five with a redesigned portal.
- The reforms target 100 million international tourists and a $3 trillion tourism economy by 2047.
A government report targets the visa bottleneck
A report from NITI Aayog, the Indian government’s policy think tank, identifies strict visa requirements as the primary obstacle to the country’s tourism growth. It sets out two headline reforms aimed at making India easier to visit.
These are proposals, not enacted rules — but they signal the direction the government is weighing for the years ahead.
Visa-on-arrival expansion
Visa-on-arrival access is currently limited to travelers from Japan and South Korea. The report proposes introducing a 90-day visa-on-arrival option with repeat-visit capability, scaled gradually to more nationalities. It would pair biometric registration with digital authorization, echoing systems like Singapore’s SG Arrival Card and the US ESTA program.
For context, India’s visa-free access today is limited to Nepal, Bhutan and the Maldives.
Consolidating the eVisa
The report also recommends streamlining the application experience. India’s nine existing eVisa sub-categories would be consolidated to five, alongside a redesigned application portal intended to reduce confusion and cut the rate at which applicants abandon the process midway.
The bigger tourism picture
The report frames visas within wider bottlenecks. It notes that hotel projects can require around 50 approvals over their lifetime and a minimum of 60 separate licenses, and that Indian hotel development runs 36 to 48 months versus 12 to 18 months among ASEAN competitors. Tourism Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat argued that at this stage “institutional efficiency becomes more powerful than investment.”
The stated goals are ambitious: 100 million international tourists and a $3 trillion tourism economy by 2047.
The full analysis is published in the NITI Aayog report. For current entry requirements while these proposals are debated, see the India visa hub.
