India suspends Visa Services for Canadians

What’s in today’s article?

• Why in news?
• India-Canada in numbers
• Trade relations, and India’s agri imports from Canada
• News Summary: India suspends visa services for Canadians
• Background
• Visa Suspension – Impact

Why in news?

• India suspended visa applications in Canada due to unspecified security threats.
  • The announcement was made on the visa facility website of the Indian High Commission in Canada.
• India also demanded Ottawa to reduce its diplomatic staffing in India.
  • This was demanded on the grounds of interference in domestic affairs in an escalation of the festering diplomatic crisis between the two countries.
• Earlier, New Delhi had advised all Indian nationals in Canada, as well as those who were planning to visit that country, to exercise utmost caution.
  • This was against the backdrop of growing anti-India activities and politically-condoned hate crimes and criminal violence in Canada

India-Canada in numbers

Trade relations, and India’s agri imports from Canada

• Bilateral trade
  • India’s total trade with Canada in the last (2022-23) financial year was $8 billion — that’s 0.7% of India’s total trade ($1.1 trillion) with the world.
  • In 2022-23, roughly $4 bn of imports were matched by $4 billion of exports even though India enjoyed a tiny trade surplus of $58 million.
• Key items in trade
  • 
  • Among what India imports from Canada, three categories of goods dominate:
    • Mineral fuels, mineral oils and products of their distillation; bituminous substances; mineral waxes.
    • Pulp of wood or of other fibrous cellulosic material; waste and scrap of paper or paperboard
    • Edible vegetables and certain roots and tubers
  • The top three exports
    • Pharmaceutical products
    • Articles of iron or steel
    • Nuclear reactors, boilers, machinery and mechanical appliance
  • Major agri-imports from Canada
    • The first is muriate of potash (MOP), the third most consumed fertiliser in India after urea and di-ammonium phosphate.
      • Canada was India’s largest MOP supplier last year, followed by Israel, Jordan, Belarus.
    • The second major item is masur or red lentil. India is a significant importer of pulses, with masur being the biggest after arhar/tur or pigeon-pea.

News Summary: India suspends visa services for Canadians

Background

• The current crisis began after Canada’s PM Justin Trudeau alleged a potential link between agents of the Government of India and the killing of Khalistani separatist, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, in Canada in June.
• Canada expelled a senior Indian diplomat, and India retaliated by expelling a senior Canadian diplomat.
• There has been no thaw yet and the current suspension of visa service comes against this backdrop.

Visa Suspension – Impact

• Impact
  • Canadian nationals who intend to visit India, but who do not have an Indian visa yet, will be impacted.
  • This group would include mainly Canadian tourists, business travellers, and students.
  • Tour operators in India had been expecting a large number of tourists from Canada to visit this winter.
    • In 2021, Canada was 4^th largest source of tourists in India.
  • However, with rising tensions between India and Canada, many such operators are bracing for cancellations from Canada.
• Impact on Indian-origin Canadians with OCI cards
  • Indian-origin Canadians who have a valid Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card, or a valid long-term visa for India, will not be impacted by the suspension of visa services.
  • OCI cards allow holders lifetime entry into India, and to live and work in the country indefinitely.
• Impact on Canadians who already have a valid Indian visa
  • Canadians with a valid Indian visa will not be impacted by the Indian government’s latest decision.
  • As of now, their visa stands. They have not been cancelled yet.

Q1) What is muriate of potash (MOP)?

Muriate of Potash (MOP), also known as potassium chloride (KCl), is a common and widely used fertilizer in agriculture. It is an essential source of potassium, one of the three primary macronutrients needed by plants for their growth and development, alongside nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P). 

Q2) What is Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card?

The Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card is a type of travel document and identity card that is issued by the Indian government to foreign nationals of Indian origin, as well as to certain categories of individuals who have a historical connection to India. The OCI card is intended to simplify travel to India and provide certain privileges and benefits to its holders.

Source: Indian visa service in Canada shut down: what happens now? | Hindustan Times | CNBC | Indian Express