The Indian Consulate here has taken various steps to make its visa regime more transparent and prompt to accelerate air travel, tourism, social, cultural and economic ties between the two countries, Consul General Akhilesh Mishra has said.

“We have successfully eliminated all sorts of middlemen and intermediaries who thrived on the bottlenecks in the processing and delivery of consular services,” Mishra said after unfurling the Indian National Tricolour to commemorate India’s 65th Republic Day yesterday.

Among the steps taken by the Consulate to streamline the visa regime include prompt response to e-mails, speedy delivery of visa and rapid mechanism to address public grievances.

Earlier, Mishra read the message of President Pranab Mukherjee to the nation in Hindi and English. Despite freezing cold, a large number of Indo-Canadians attended the function.

Members of several Indo-Canadian organisations like Satish Thakkar, former President of the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce, and Rajesh Gupta, President & CEO of State Bank of India (Canada), were among those present on the occasion.

“At the end of August 2013, we had a backlog of over 2,500 services, including passports, OCI, PIO, PCCs, surrender certificates and visas — by December 2013, they all have been cleared,” he said.

There was great synergy and complementarity between the unique strengths of the Canadian economy and the needs of a rapidly growing economy of India, Mishra said, adding: “We are working to leverage the enormous opportunities for mutually beneficial cooperation.”

“My vision is to develop at least 1,000 focal points in the community to catalyse and guide the flow of trade and investment, both ways, between India and Canada,” he said.

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