Centre approves extension of IVFRT scheme till 2026

After IVFRT was put in place, the number of visa and OCI cards issued increased from 44.43 lakh in 2014 to 64.59 lakh in 2019

The Centre has approved the continuation of the Immigration, Visa and Foreigner’s Registration & Tracking (IVFRT) Scheme till 31 March, 2026 with a financial outlay of Rs 1,364.88 crore.

The project has a global outreach and seeks to interlink and optimise functions relating to immigration, visa issuance, registration of foreigners and tracking of their movements in India by covering 192 Indian Missions across the globe, 108 Immigration Check Posts (ICPs) in India, 12 Foreigners Regional Registration Officers (FRROs) and offices and more than 700 Foreigners Registration Officers (FROs), Superintendents of Police (SPs)/Deputy Commissioners of Police (DCPs) across the country.

The scheme's approval for continuation for five years is from 31 March, 2021, an official statement said.

"The continuation of the scheme shows the Modi Government’s commitment to the core objective of IVFRT, which is modernization and up-gradation of Immigration and Visa services," it said. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) aims to provide a secure and integrated service delivery framework that facilitates legitimate travellers while strengthening national security, through this scheme, it said.

After IVFRT was put in place, the number of visa and OCI (Overseas Citizens of India) cards issued increased from 44.43 lakh in 2014 to 64.59 lakh in 2019 at a Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 7.7%.

Average visa processing time of 15 to 30 days has been reduced to a maximum of 72 hours in e-visas, with 95% of them issued within 24 hours. International traffic to and from India grew from 3.71 crore to 7.5 crore during the last 10 years at a CAGR of 7.2%, official figures showed.

On February 21, the Centre approved the continuation of the central sector umbrella scheme of Border Infrastructure and Management till 2025-26 at a cost of Rs 13,020 crore.

Earlier this month, the government also approved the second phase of the Inter-Operable Criminal Justice System (ICJS) project with an expenditure of Rs 3,375 crore between 2022-23 and 2025-26.

It had also approved the extension of the umbrella scheme of Modernisation of Police Forces (MPF) for three more fiscals till 2025-26 with a central outlay of Rs 26,275 crore.

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