NRI Focus

The latest Henley Passport Index for July reveals India’s ranking in the 80th place, in spite of the country offering visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 56 destinations. India’s mobility score of 56 means Indian passport holders can enter 56 destinations without obtaining a visa before departure. Still, the latest ranking is down from 78th in May.

A greenfield aluminium project that is likely to come up in Odisha, thanks to Adani Enterprises and International Holding Company (IHC), is expected to generate over 50,000 jobs. India’s Adani Enterprises and Abu Dhabi-listed IHC have signed a memorandum of understanding with the Odisha government to invest $11.5 billion in the proposed greenfield aluminium project, which will be the country’s largest direct foreign investments in the sector.

India is strengthening its position as a leading talent hub for financial services, with its cities favorably placed in terms of labour availability, talent pipeline, VC funding activity and industry output, according to new research from Colliers. ‘The Global Financial Services Markets: Top Talent Locations 2026’ report found financial services location strategies were shifting as firms balanced access to talent, cost competitiveness and rapid technology change.

The India Wealth Window 2026 held recently at Taj Dubai, Business Bay, saw the participation of policymakers, bankers, investors and business leaders to discuss startup investments and FCNR-linked wealth creation structure, among other economic expansion plans. The high-level financial conclave, organised by the Indian Business & Professional Council (IBPC Dubai), underscored the UAE as one of the largest sources of remittances into India.

Indian low-cost airline Air India Express is all set to launch direct flights between northeastern India and the Gulf in August this year. The first route of its kind, the budget carrier will launch direct flights between Guwahati and Dubai and Abu Dhabi on August 4 and 7, respectively. “The new routes are expected to support tourism, trade, and cultural exchange, while bringing Northeast India closer to key global markets and opportunities,” the airline said in a statement.

All international passengers are now required to complete a mandatory online health self-declaration before arriving in India. This procedure has been introduced by the Ministry of Civil Aviation to counter the rapid Ebola outbreak in Africa. Termed Air Suvidha 2.0, the contactless digital platform enables travellers to submit their health and travel information online before departure from their respective locations.

After a declaration by the Ministry of External Affairs recently that an Indian passport was primarily a travel document and not a conclusive proof of citizenship under the Passports Act, 1967, a fresh political debate has begun. Congress MP Shashi Tharoor has questioned the statement, saying that it only created confusion for ordinary citizens, who considered passports as one of their most trusted identity documents.

The United Arab Emirates has condemned in the strongest terms the hostile drone attacks by Iran that targeted the Kingdom of Bahrain. In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) affirmed that these hostile attacks constitute a flagrant violation of the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Bahrain, and a threat to its security and stability.

In what can be termed the first revision in 14 years, the Indian government has announced an increase in passport fees. The new charges, which will come into force on July 1, 2026, will apply to both residents and NRIs. Applicants seeking a fresh ordinary passport or renewal of a 36-page passport will have to pay Rs. 2,500, effective July 1. Tatkaal applicants will have to shell out Rs. 5,000 under the revised structure. At present, the corresponding fees are Rs. 1,500 and Rs. 3,500, respectively.

There is a particular kind of administrative announcement that arrives quietly, and detonates slowly — the kind that takes a few hours to fully process before the implications begin to unspool in genuinely unsettling directions. India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) delivered one such announcement on June 24.