Foreign tourists availing e-visas will now get pre-activated free SIM cards as they arrive in India, a move that has been hailed by tour operators' body IATO.
Announcing the much-awaited plan, Tourism Minister Mahesh Sharma said talk time of Rs 50 will be made available on the BSNL SIM card, which will also have 50 MB data.
Initially, the service will be provided at Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi but will later be extended to 15 other airports in the country where e-visa facility is available, he added.
The initiative will help the tourists to immediately communicate with their relatives at home, and with hotels, tour operators and so on. I got this idea when I had got a similar card when I had visited Sri Lanka.Mahesh Sharma, Tourism Minister
Tourism Secretary Vinod Zutshi said the expense for the SIM cards will be borne out of the tourism promotion budget of the ministry which he said is "well within the budget".
To a question as to why the facility is available only to tourists with e-visas, Sharma said complete information about the travellers on such visas is readily "available in advance". So, it could be immediately synced with the data of the concerned authorities for providing SIMs.
Under the e-visa scheme, an applicant receives an email authorising him or her to travel to India after it has been approved. The tourist can travel with a print-out of this authorisation.
(With inputs from PTI)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)