Immigration to become hassle-free Source: IANS. New Delhi, May 29: Come October, passengers - both Indians and foreigners - at Indian airports may no longer have to put up with long queues and harassment at immigration counters. Thanks to persistent pressure from Tourism Minister Renuka Chowdhury, the home ministry has decided to introduce the Advanced Passenger Information System (APIS) to facilitate smoother immigration clearance. A notification from the home ministry said APIS would be introduced at the Delhi and Mumbai international airports from October 1. Under the new system, passenger details will be sent by airlines to immigration authorities in India immediately after a flight takes off for an Indian destination. The information will help immigration officers to pre-check passengers, leading to faster clearances even before flights land. The tourism ministry has been pressuring the government to make air travel - including arrival and departure clearances - hassle-free, especially for foreign tourists. Chowdhury had suggested installation of electronic swipe machines for regular travelers, fast track services for international tourists and special identity cards for foreign tourists coming to India for medical purposes to boost the tourism industry. Officials indicated the government would soon introduce biometric smart cards for frequent Indian flyers who would be able to swipe the cards and get through immigration clearance in a jiffy. Chowdhury had pointed out that long queues and harassment on arrival at airports had often put off tourists coming to India. According to officials, the home and civil aviation ministries have been working together to introduce more fast track facilities at airports to make arrangements passenger-friendly. The officials said the government had cleared the installation of passport reading machines at all major airports. There have also been efforts to integrate passport, visa and immigration services. "But it will take time. The tourism, home and civil aviation ministries are working together to bring in major reforms to change the face of Indian tourism," said an official in the tourism ministry. "The long queues for immigration clearance have been a major disenchantment for travelers, especially tourists. We have to do things without compromising security," Chowdhury had said recently. Chowdhury's campaign based on the theme 'Athithi Devo Bhava' (the guest is god), under which she has been urging immigration officers, hospitality industry staff and taxi drivers to make tourists "feel at home", has been quite successful. India, which has 67 immigration check posts across the country, gets only a little over three million foreign tourists a year.
