The government is contemplating giving visa on arrival to people from 16 countries including, Australia, New Zealand and France.
The proposal, prepared by a group of ministers, was awaiting clearance from the ministry of home affairs, Tourism and Culture Minister Ambika Soni told reporters in New delhi on Monday.
Asked about the "security concerns" expressed by the home ministry over the proposal, Soni said there could be other ways in which the proposal could be implemented like electronic visa or long-term visa.
She added that the tourism ministry would act as a facilitator for public-private partnership to increase international and domestic tourism.
Soni said she had also met Finance Minister P Chidambaram seeking an "infrastructure status" for her ministry.
"I have met the finance minister and I talked about granting tourism sector the status of infrastructure industry. They are looking into it," she said that adding, "the ministry has also given a proposal asking for increased budgetary allocation."
Asked about various new initiatives taken by the ministry, she said apart from creating a special tourist circuit of national monuments and illuminating them, the ministry was also contemplating to launch a campaign to overcome the "negatives" like sex tourism or drug tourism.
Soni, in her first press conference as culture and tourism minister, said the government was exploring cheaper options to overcome the shortage of hotel rooms in the country.
With an eye on the expected surge in demand before the 2010 Commonwealth Games, Soni said she would be emphasising on budget hotels, paying guest accommodations and service apartments.
Soni said she has already asked the DDA to locate sites for such projects, which would be auctioned in a transparent manner.
