Centre to ease Visa application process for PLI sector manufacturers
New Delhi: The government is working to streamline the application process for Indian business visas for companies that have established manufacturing units in the 14 sectors covered by the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme but are not beneficiaries of the scheme, media reported.
“We have already got a streamlined process for PLI beneficiaries. We’re trying to get it extended to other non-PLI beneficiaries, which are operating in those same strategic sectors. We are in the process of drawing up a similar streamlined process for those kinds of non-PLI beneficiaries in the PLI sector as well,” Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh said on Thursday, reported Business Today.
DPIIT comes under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
“A final decision in this regard hasn’t been taken but we’re moving in that direction. Hopefully it will be done…Visa is a subject matter of the external affairs ministry and home ministry,” the industry secretary said.
The PLI scheme covers 14 sectors, including mobile phones, drones, white goods, telecommunications, textiles, automobiles, specialty steel, and pharmaceutical drugs, among others.
Earlier this week, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal told Business Standard that the government is expediting visa-related processes to bring technicians to India from China and other countries as needed to ensure the smooth implementation of the PLI scheme, according to the report.
The industry has been urging the government’s intervention to resolve visa-processing delays affecting Chinese vendors involved in manufacturing projects.
Companies have been experiencing productivity issues due to visa hurdles in areas such as component manufacturing and machinery installation or repair, particularly under the PLI scheme.
Several ministries and government departments have been working on resolving these visa-related issues for experts and technicians from China, coordinating efforts with the Ministry of External Affairs.
The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has also been liaising with the external affairs ministry on these matters.
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