New Delhi, Nov. 4 -- Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been decorated by more foreign governments than any Indian leader before him. By most counts, the tally has crossed 30. The latest, Uzbekistan's Order of Highest Friendship (Oliy Darajali Do'stlik), was conferred on him in Tashkent on August 30.

Each ceremony is held up as proof of India's rising standing in the world. The question for the average Indian traveller is simpler. Has any of it made a visa easier to get?

The passport offers a sobering starting point. In the October edition of the Henley Passport Index, India ranks 84th of 199, with visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 55 destinations. That is two fewer than a year ago.

Siasat.com looked at nine countries that have hono...