India’s powerful policy think-tank NITI Aayog has released a 240-page report, “Unlocking Growth in Tourism and Hospitality,” that amounts to the most ambitious shake-up of the country’s entry rules in a decade. The paper recommends a 90-day multiple-entry Visa-on-Arrival (VoA) for travellers from select low-risk markets and a radical slimming-down of India’s labyrinthine e-Visa categories into five broad visa classes. The current e-Visa matrix has more than a dozen sub-types—tourist, business, conference, short-term medical, attendant and so on—each with its own fee and document list.
![NITI Aayog calls for 90-day multiple-entry Visa-on-Arrival and single-window hotel approvals]()
For travellers trying to keep pace with these evolving requirements, VisaHQ offers a one-stop online solution for securing Indian visas. Through its dedicated India portal (https://www.visahq.com/india/), applicants can compare visa types, upload documents, and track processing in real time, ensuring they choose the correct category—whether under today’s system or the streamlined regime proposed by NITI Aayog.
NITI Aayog argues that this complexity discourages repeat visits and forces high-value travellers into visa-consultant channels. By contrast, competitors such as Thailand and Indonesia issue a single VoA that covers most non-work purposes. The proposed Indian VoA would be valid for three months, allow multiple entries and be processed in under five minutes at designated airports and seaports. On the supply side, the think-tank lambasts what it calls “project-stage gridlock” in hotel development. India’s branded room inventory is barely 2 lakh—less than 8 % of total lodging capacity—because it typically takes 36-48 months and more than 70 licences to open a hotel. The report advocates scrapping project approvals by the Ministry of Tourism, merging liquor and health-trade licences, and moving the entire process to a single digital window that auto-clears applications if departmental comments are not filed within 30 days. For corporates and relocation managers the recommendations, if adopted, could slash lead times for inbound assignments and reduce visa costs for short-term assignees. NITI Aayog also floats a GST Tourist Refund Scheme—critical for global events and incentive travel—as well as biometric integration between the visa system and the Digi Yatra facial-recognition platform for friction-less airport exits. The proposals are now with the Ministries of Home Affairs and Tourism, which are expected to constitute an inter-ministerial task-force. Industry bodies such as FICCI and WTTC have welcomed the blueprint, but caution that implementation timelines and IT infrastructure budgets will determine real-world impact.
For travellers trying to keep pace with these evolving requirements, VisaHQ offers a one-stop online solution for securing Indian visas. Through its dedicated India portal (https://www.visahq.com/india/), applicants can compare visa types, upload documents, and track processing in real time, ensuring they choose the correct category—whether under today’s system or the streamlined regime proposed by NITI Aayog.
NITI Aayog argues that this complexity discourages repeat visits and forces high-value travellers into visa-consultant channels. By contrast, competitors such as Thailand and Indonesia issue a single VoA that covers most non-work purposes. The proposed Indian VoA would be valid for three months, allow multiple entries and be processed in under five minutes at designated airports and seaports. On the supply side, the think-tank lambasts what it calls “project-stage gridlock” in hotel development. India’s branded room inventory is barely 2 lakh—less than 8 % of total lodging capacity—because it typically takes 36-48 months and more than 70 licences to open a hotel. The report advocates scrapping project approvals by the Ministry of Tourism, merging liquor and health-trade licences, and moving the entire process to a single digital window that auto-clears applications if departmental comments are not filed within 30 days. For corporates and relocation managers the recommendations, if adopted, could slash lead times for inbound assignments and reduce visa costs for short-term assignees. NITI Aayog also floats a GST Tourist Refund Scheme—critical for global events and incentive travel—as well as biometric integration between the visa system and the Digi Yatra facial-recognition platform for friction-less airport exits. The proposals are now with the Ministries of Home Affairs and Tourism, which are expected to constitute an inter-ministerial task-force. Industry bodies such as FICCI and WTTC have welcomed the blueprint, but caution that implementation timelines and IT infrastructure budgets will determine real-world impact.
