The Indian passport continues to strengthen on the global index as evident from the latest 2019 Passport Index, in which the ranking of Indian passport has increased 10 places over the past five years from 77 in 2015 to 67 in 2019.
The 2019 Passport Index ranks the passports of 199 countries based on their Visa-Free scores and their ranking on the UNDP human development index. India has improved one place in last one year as it was placed in 68th position in 2018.
The improve in the rankings suggest that more countries are opening up to Indian tourists and recognising their spending power. 25 countries now allow visa-free entry to the Indian passport holders and 39 more nations offer visa-on-arrival.
The main reason behind the increasing acceptance of Indian tourists is that the Indian government has opened its arms to foreign tourists over the last five years. The tourism ministry now provides e-tourist visa facilities to 166 countries, up from 46 nations in 2014, following a series of amendments in the country’s e-visa regime to make the process more tourist-friendly and double foreign tourist arrival figures by 2021.
The UAE passport is ranked the highest in the index with it allowing hassle-free travel to 167 countries ahead of Germany in the second position while the USA and France share the third spot with 10 other countries.
Lately, India has seen a steady growth in various governance indicators and has achieved a considerable rise in the ranks issued by global governance institutions. Recently, India had jumped 65 ranks in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business rankings in just 4 years. India now stands at 77th according to the latest Ease of Doing Business Ranking, making it one of the top improvers in governance initiatives across the world.
