The government is considering further streamlining the processes for timely approval of visas for Chinese professionals and technicians whose expertise Indian industry needs to set up production capacity, a senior official said.
Certain Indian industry players have approached the government stating that they are facing difficulties in obtaining visas for Chinese professionals whose expertise is needed for things like setting up machinery in factories.
The government recently introduced a standard operating procedure (SOP) to streamline visa approvals for Chinese technicians whose expertise is required by suppliers under the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) programme.
“Now we might liberalize it for others. That process is ongoing and a cabinet memorandum is being prepared. Within the existing system, there is now an SOP to expedite visas for Chinese who will come to help set up production capacity in India. We have already streamlined it quite a bit, now we are trying to see if it can be done for them,” said the government official, who did not want to be named.
An industry official said a problem arises when Indian authorities insist on a university qualification certificate for Chinese professionals.
“An expert may not have those types of documents, but he/she has acquired expertise through years of working in a particular field. We request the Indian authorities to ease the visa approval processes for Chinese professionals. We need them for things like installation of machines, which only increases quality and productivity in production lines. We need their expertise only if we don't get help in India or any other country,” the industry official said.
The PLI scheme was announced in 2021 for 14 sectors such as telecommunications, white goods, textiles, medical equipment manufacturing, automobiles, specialty steel, food products, high-efficiency solar PV modules, advanced chemical cell batteries, drones and pharmaceuticals. of Rs 1.97 lakh crore.
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First print: January 4, 2024 | 11:26 am IST