New Delhi, June 4 -- The Centre has done away with the requirement of separate Prior Reference Category (PRC) clearance for foreign nationals who have already been granted security clearance through the Security Clearance Portal (SCP), officials in the ministry of home affairs (MHA) said on Wednesday. The move is aimed at eliminating a dual approval process for certain categories of foreign nationals whose security clearance is regulated by the MHA. The PRC refers to a category of people from countries such as Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Sudan and China (for certain categories), as well as foreigners of Pakistani origin and stateless people, who require security clearance to attend events such as conferences and sporting competitions in India. The MHA regulates the security clearance for people in the PRC list. The SCP is a centralised web portal to streamline the security clearances for specific categories handled by the MHA. Only ministries and government departments needing security clearance for foreign nationals for an event can apply on this portal. "Certain amendments have been made in the existing visa manual recently, including dispensing with the requirement of separate PRC clearance for foreign nationals who have been granted security clearance on SCP portal. This removes the dual process," said a ministry official, requesting anonymity. The official added that powers relating to the extension or conversion of visas and other visa-related services that were not specifically covered earlier have now been incorporated. "The provision of multiple entries on various visas granted under the e-Visa platform has also been included," a second official said. India currently offers e-Visas to nationals of 172 countries....