With the country witnessing over 88 lakh foreign tourist visits last year, the tourism sector marked a growth of over 10 per cent, said President Pranab Mukherjee.
“Realising the importance of developing tourism, my government has approved the new e-Visa policy and expanded the scope of e-tourist visa to include purposes such as short-term medical treatment and business trips. 161 countries are now covered under e-Visa,” Mukherjee said in his address to the members of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.
He said the government will maximise the strengths of Indian diaspora of over 30 million people spread across the globe in nation building and for deepening global outreach.
“There are over 30 million overseas Indians, settled in almost every corner of the world. They continue to make invaluable contributions to Indian society and economy,” the President added.
(PTI)
