After keeping the issue hanging for more than a year, the government is likely to approve e-visas for the MICE (Meetings Incentives, Conferences Exhibition) segment soon. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) had earlier turned down the Tourism Ministry’s request to grant e-tourist visas to the meetings, conferences and events (MICE) delegates, citing “security concerns”. But now, in view of a repeat request by the Tourism Ministry, the MHA is likely to give a conditional nod to the request. A highly placed official in the Tourism Ministry told The Indian Express, “We have made a strong case to the MHA to allow MICE e-visas this time. Currently, anyone who wants to come to India for a casual business trip is granted an e-visa. So if a business tourist can come to India casually, why not to hold a conference? However, in order to make sure that the topic of conference is not inimical to the state — which had actually caused the MHA to raise a red flag — the MHA and the MEA can issue an NoC to the corporate seeking visa.” [related-post] Watch Video: What's making news Tourism and Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma said, “We have made a proposal to allow e-visa to corporates from the world over, who want to hold short-term meets and conferences in India, for just the duration of the conference. The segment is a big revenue-generator since most of these people club business with sight-seeing and shopping. We are likely to get a nod soon.” The relaxation is part of the government’s efforts to bring India on a par with the US, Germany, Spain, the UK and France, which are the most popular destinations in the MICE segment.
