India streamlines visa rules in boost for Chinese professionals

India has reformed its business visa regime to ease movement of foreign engineers and technicians, the government said in a statement, which will be a boost local firms leaning on Chinese professionals for manufacturing services.

India's Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade said late on Wednesday it had launched a new digital platform last month for companies to generate sponsorship letters to invite foreign professionals, has simplified visa forms and will no longer ask relevant ministries for additional recommendations.

The visas have been eased for factory installation, commissioning, maintenance, and production, among other functions. Indian businesses predominantly depend on Chinese professionals for such services and to train local staff, especially in factories that deploy Chinese machinery.

Reuters reported last week that India has cut red tape to speed up visas for Chinese professionals in signs of improved ties between the two nations.

India had blocked virtually all Chinese visits after the nuclear-armed neighbours clashed on their Himalayan frontier in mid-2020, widening its vetting of business visas beyond the home and foreign ministries.

The removal of red tape comes after Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited China this year for the first time in seven years, meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping and discussing ways to improve ties.

In the face of punishing US tariffs, Modi has cautiously rekindled ties with Beijing.

Think tank the Observer Research Foundation estimates the tougher scrutiny on visas led to production losses of $15 billion over four years to Indian electronics makers, which import key machinery from China.

Major Chinese electronics companies, such as Xiaomi, have also struggled to get visas. Industry executives have said such curbs hit their plans to expand in India, while the solar industry was also hit by shortages of skilled labour.