India, Nov. 11 -- The Government of India has tidied up its visa regime, reducing the number of main categories from 13 to 9 and the number of sub-categories from 49 to 23. The announcement was made under PM Narendra Modi's leadership and with the guidance of Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

The intent is to facilitate legitimate travel to India for work, education, healthcare and so on. This change combines the overlapping categories into a simpler, purpose-based structure. It clears up confusion that has long affected both applicants and processing officers.

In all 23 remaining sub-categories, the number of fields on the application forms has been reduced by 65-70 per cent. Fewer data fields mean shorter forms, fewer errors and faster a...