Parliament Question: Conference clearance system

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS RAJYA SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO- 65 ANSWERED ON- 05/02/2026 CONFERENCE CLEARANCE SYSTEM *65 # SHRI MADAN RATHORE

Will the Minister of EXTERNAL AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

(a) the number of applications received through the Conference Clearance System portal in the last three years, including the details of approved, rejected, and withdrawn applications;

(b) the average processing time for granting political clearance before and after the launch of online portal;

(c) whether any time limits or service standards have been set for the disposal of applications, and the extent to which they have been complied with; and

(d) if so, the details thereof? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE OF THE MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS (SHRI KIRTI VARDHAN SINGH)

(a) to (d) A statement is laid on the Table of the House.

1STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARS (A) TO (D) OF STARRED QUESTION NO.

65 BY SHRI MADAN RATHORE TO BE ANSWERED IN RAJYA SABHA ON 05/02/2026 REGARDING CONFERENCE CLEARANCE SYSTEM.

(a) to (d) The Conference Clearance System (CCS) portal (conference.epolclearance.gov.in) is an automated, single-window web- based application developed by the Ministry of External Affairs in March 2025 to streamline the process for granting political clearance to foreign nationals to attend or participate in conferences/seminars/workshops/ sports events and other events organised in India by government or private bodies.

This digital platform has ensured a smoother and hassle-free user experience with a substantial reduction in processing time as compared to the earlier mechanism. The portal also serves the larger objective of Digital India by maximizing the number of services available on the digital platform.

The portal serves as a centralised platform where stakeholders can access all the information related to the status of an application in one place. It features an interactive dashboard that enables the Ministry to seek missing or additional information from organisers promptly, whenever required. Organisers can also monitor the status of their applications online. These features have substantially reduced the average processing time by at least five to six working days.

In general, political clearance is granted within 3-5 working days. However, the actual processing time may vary on a case-to-case basis depending on several factors including the number of invitees – which may range from 10 to 200 and the countries from which participation is expected. The portal also includes a provision for partial clearance. Under this mechanism, political clearance is granted individually as soon as complete information for a foreign delegate is received and verified. As a result, the overall application status may continue to appear as “pending” even though the political clearance has been granted for a majority of the delegates in some cases upto 90 percent of the total list.

A total number of 4809 applications have been received on the conference clearance portal since its launch. The details of these applications are as under:- Total number of Cleared Partially Withdrawn Cases where Total number of applications application cleared applications clearance not applicants who received till applications granted have been

30.01.2026 granted 1730 hrs clearance since March 2025 4809 (including 3883 407 141 100 22,857 278 under process applications) ***** 2