New Delhi: After the huge success of e-Tourist visa scheme, the Union Tourism Ministry, is now planning to extend the scheme for another 36 countries.
Reportedly, a proposal for approval, has been sent to the Ministry of Home Affairs. If the proposal got a positive response from the ministry, then a total of 186 countries will to able to acquire an online visa to travel to India.
The 36 countries in which the scheme may get extended includes Italy, Iran, Egypt, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Nigeria, Ethiopia among others. From the time of its launch, the scheme has been constantly expanding and is becoming a great choice for the tourists.
According to the reports, the data from the Tourist Ministry shows that a total of 4,71,909 tourists arrived through e-tourist visa during January-June 2016 in comparison to 1,26,214 tourists during January-June 2015, which results in a growth of 273.9%.
The scheme, launched in November 2014, was available for 114 countries initially, after which it was extended for another 37 more countries in February this year, taking the total number to 150 countries which are using this scheme.