Have Noted That US Has Updated Travel Advisory For India: Foreign Ministry

Travel advisories are periodically issued by countries based on their "assessment of various factors", and "we have noted" that the US has updated the travel advisory for India, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Thursday.

MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said this in response to a query on the advisory issued recently by the US for its citizens travelling to India.

In the June 16 advisory, the US urged its citizens to exercise "increased caution" due to crime and rape, and advised them not to travel to certain parts of central and eastern parts of the country due to terrorism.

The travel advisory also states that "rape is one of the fastest growing crimes in India" and violent crimes, including sexual assault, happen at tourist sites and other locations.

The MEA spokesperson, in his response to the query during a weekly media briefing here, said, travel advisories are "periodically issued" by countries based on their "assessment of various factors".

"We have noted that the United States has also updated the travel advisory for India. This happened, I think, on the 16th of June," Jaiswal said, adding thereafter New Delhi has been informed by the US authorities that there has been no change in the advisory level for India, which "remains at level 2, same as before".

"And the US' travel advisory level for India has been at level 2 for several years," he added.

The travel advisory for India also says that the US government has limited ability to provide emergency services to its citizens in rural areas, which stretch from eastern Maharashtra and northern Telangana through western West Bengal.

It also advised its citizens not to travel to the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir, except for visits to the eastern Ladakh region and Leh, due to terrorism and civil unrest.

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