The government’s reluctance to approve visas stacked up production losses of US$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 US$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.
