The government is considering further streamlining of processes for timely approval of visas for Chinese professionals and technicians whose expertise is required by the Indian industry to set up manufacturing capacity, a senior official said.

Certain Indian industry players have approached the government stating that they are facing problems in getting visas for Chinese professionals whose expertise is required for things like setting up machines in factories.

The government has recently put in place a standard operating procedure (SOP) for streamlining visa approvals for Chinese technicians whose expertise is required by vendors under the PLI (Production Linked Incentive) scheme.

"Now we may be liberalising it for others. That process is on and a Cabinet note is under preparation. Within the existing system, there is an SOP now to expedite visas for Chinese who are to come in to help set up manufacturing capacity in India. We have already streamlined it quite a bit, now we are trying to see whether it could be done for them," the government official, who did not not wish to be named, said.

An industry official said problem arises when Indian authorities insist for a university qualification certificate for the Chinese professionals.

"An expert may not have that kind of documents, he/she has earned expertise by working in a particular field for years. We are requesting the Indian authorities to facilitate the visa approval processes for Chinese professionals. We need them for things like installation of machines, increasing quality and productivity in manufacturing lines only. We need their expertise only where we are not getting help in India or any other country," the industry official said.

The PLI scheme was announced in 2021 for 14 sectors such as telecommunication, white goods, textiles, manufacturing of medical devices, automobiles, speciality steel, food products, high-efficiency solar PV modules, advanced chemistry cell battery, drones and pharma with an outlay of Rs 1.97 lakh crore.

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