Govt to take steps to stop misuse of business visas: Tharoor

According to the minister of state for external affairs, business visas were not to substitute employment visas.

With reference to China, Tharoor said there might be fears that business visas issued to Chinese were utilised as employment visas by unskilled and semi-skilled workers of that country in view of the surge in their issuance.

"We will scrutinise the visa processing method and business visas will be given for business visits only," he said. "There is no chance of condoning the provisions of the visa policy," he said here at the Merchants' Chamber of Commerce.

Last year, the Indian government had issued 58,500 business visas to Chinese nationals. In case of skilled workers, it would be imperative to prove that the particular skill was not available in India.

Referring to India's relations with China, Tharoor said that there are some irritants and hoped the issue would be resolved through diplomatic understanding. "There are different perceptions on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) between India and China," he said.