Travellers will no longer have to queue at local consulates after New Delhi announced the proposed overhaul of its strict visa regime.
The UAE is included on the list, along with the UK, United States and China, and the service is expected to be offered by the end of the year.
According to the Indian embassy in Abu Dhabi, about 50,000 people, including Emiratis and expatriates, travel to India from the UAE each year
Under the current procedures, all Indian visa applications are to be submitted online.
Then a signed printed copy of the online visa application must be given to an embassy-authorised firm, which processes the visa.
India currently offers visa on arrival to tourists from 11 countries such as Finland, the Philippines, Singapore and Japan.
Citizens from eight countries including Pakistan, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and Iraq have not been included in the fresh changes for security reasons.
The visa extension to citizens of 180 countries will be implemented initially at nine airports, including Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Cochin, Hyderabad, Goa and Trivandrum.
The Indian embassy in Abu Dhabi last week alerted residents to fake Indian visa services offered online. It urged people to apply only through the official website: http://www.indianvisaonline.gov.in/visa/
source: http://www.thenational.ae/