People seeking a US visitor visa may have to wait until 2024 for the appointment, Delhi, Bengaluru airports start biometric screening of domestic passengers and more in top stories of the day.
People seeking US visitor visa may have to wait till 2024 for appointment
People seeking a US visitor visa may have to wait until 2024 for the appointment. The US State Department website showed that if a person from India applies for the visitor visa today, they will get an appointment only in March-April, 2024, a Times of India report stated. The waiting time is longer in New Delhi as compared to Mumbai. In the national capital, one will have to wait 581 days to get an appointment. In Mumbai, the waiting period is 517 days. However, it is highest at 587 days in Kolkata. The report said the main reason for long queues is the lack of staff. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the foreign missions had sent their staff back.
The US embassy told ToI that they are stepping up hiring the staff. It is “actively addressing consular staffing gaps created by the pandemic, including by onboarding and training new employees”. The embassy is also prioritizing certain types of visas, namely, for repeat travel and national interest.
Delhi, Bengaluru airports start biometric screening of domestic passengers
Delhi and Bengaluru airports on Monday launched the beta version of an app that allows contactless screening of domestic passengers based on the use of face biometrics. DigiYatra app or project is part of government efforts to decongest airports and improve passenger experience by cutting down waiting time. Using Digi Yatra, a passenger will pass through various checkpoints at airports through paperless and contactless processing. The app uses facial features to establish an identity linked to a passenger’s boarding pass. The project is based on the Facial Recognition Technology (FRT).
The project is based on the Facial Recognition Technology (FRT). Pune, Vijayawada, Kolkata, Varanasi and Hyderabad airports are expected to join the app by March next year. Digi Yatra will cater to all passengers, be it Indian citizens (With or without Digi Yatra ID) or foreign nationals.
Tanzania sees boost in tourist arrivals after high-speed Internet at Kilimanjaro
Tanzania has installed high-speed internet on Mt. Kilimanjaro this week, part of a plan to lure tourists and triple arrivals to the East African nation in two years.
The new connectivity on Africa’s highest mountain will initially benefit as many as 1,000 climbers on various stages of the trek every day, according to the East African nation’s Information, Communication, and Information Technology Minister Nape Nnauye. Coverage will reach the Kilimanjaro summit by the end of the year and thousands more mountaineers will be able to log-in, according to Nnauye. The facility introduced by state-owned Tanzania Telecommunications Corp. will allow “tourists to access live streaming services, make calls and post their mountain-climbing adventures on social media platforms, thus helping to promote our tourism sector,” Nnauye said.
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