Why can't India build a decent visa website, asks The Economist. This is what Indians said

The Economist's criticism of India's visa and other government websites has sparked strong reactions on social media. While some slammed the London-based magazine for its alleged biased views, others agreed with its opinion, and said the user experience needed to be improved.

A sharply worded column by The Economist criticising India's government websites, particularly its online visa portal, has triggered an equally spirited debate on social media, drawing reactions from politicians, journalists, entrepreneurs and technology commentators. The opinion was expressed in Ashoka, the weekly column of The Economist dedicated to India.

In the column titled 'Why can't India's government build a decent website?', the British news and current affairs magazine argued that India's official websites often deliver "clunky online experiences" despite the country's global reputation as an IT powerhouse. The piece opens with a tongue-in-cheek suggestion that readers should "grab a glass of water and 1,000mg of paracetamol" before attempting to navigate India's visa application website.

The publication went on to argue that the problem extends beyond the visa portal, saying many government websites suffer from outdated design, broken links, confusing navigation and cumbersome user experiences. It attributed these issues to institutional and bureaucratic challenges rather than a lack of technical talent.

The Economist pointed out that the websites feature a "sadistic mix of pop-ups, moving text, flashing graphics, ministerial portraits and antique elements like text-based Captchas, a bot-prevention tool that these days only thwarts humans."

It also alleged that "things are no better in the backend". In an apparent reference to Nisarga Adhikary, it said how the 19-year-old "ethical hacker" exposed flaws in the CBSE's On-Screen Marking (OSM) portal.

The article quickly became a talking point on social media, where reactions ranged from agreement with the criticism to accusations that The Economist had singled out India while overlooking similar problems elsewhere, including the US. Some people did agree that user experience could be improved.

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While several Indians saw a western media bias in the column, some echoed The Economist's criticism.

NCP (SP) spokesperson Anish Gawande used the piece to criticise India's digital governance.

"This is the state of Digital India," he wrote, adding that "a ninth-standard student with Claude Code would probably vibe code a better website than the e-visa website (and, honestly, most government websites)."

Indian-American entrepreneur and Hotmail co-founder, Sabeer Bhatia, also weighed in, calling it "a broken system," and adding, "No wonder India is falling behind some African countries. Mera Bharat Mahan."

Columnist and blogger SL Kanthan approached the issue from another angle, asking why Indian software professionals themselves had not demanded improvements.

"How come The Economist notices this obvious problem in India, but millions of Indian software engineers don't complain or fix it?" he wrote.

"Government websites for an IT powerhouse are an embarrassment. Unfortunately I have to agree with the Economist here," wrote a person on X.

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Commentator and corporate strategist Sandip Ghose countered The Economist's paracetamol with a dose of pantoprazole.

"I usually take Pantoprazole (Acid Reflux regulator / proton pump inhibitor) before reading The Economist. Now this is an added prescription. Thanks," wrote Ghose on X.

Scientist and geopolitical commentator Deepessh Divaakaran described the timing of the opinion piece as "interesting", suggesting there was more to the story than concern over website usability. Referring to the magazine's headline, he remarked, "The Economist is suddenly in love with the Indian visa system."

He contrasted India's digital public infrastructure with government systems elsewhere, pointing to Aadhaar, UPI and DigiLocker while arguing that countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom have also faced challenges with public-facing digital services. He further claimed that the magazine's article was "not journalism" but "a pressure tactic wearing a press badge".

Journalist Pranav Dixit, responded with a pointed comparison, writing, "Has anyone at The Economist ever tried booking a US visa on usvisascheduling.com?"

Some people argued against The Economist, saying their experience with the Indian government's visa website had been smooth.

"Did the Economist's editorial team fail to get an e-visa (I have applied for e-visas for foreign family members >10 times in 10 mins flat)? Perhaps the editorial team needs to review their Internet/browser literacy skills before taking a potshot at the e-visa site?" asked Karthik Subramanian, a startup co-founder.

Siddharth, an engineer, wrote on X that he didn't think that the generalisation was fair. "India's Aadhar, passport, electricity portals are very very good," he wrote.

Responding to him, a person said that user experience can be improved "The portal, the whole set up Uploading pics, I believe under 50kb or something like that is unheard of and a pain," the person said.

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For some observers, however, the discussion was less about the magazine's criticism and more about an issue they say has existed for years.

Travel entrepreneur Ankit Sawant said concerns over India's visa website have repeatedly been raised within the tourism industry itself. He noted that at recent travel trade events, former ministry officials and industry representatives had highlighted the poor user experience and the limited budget allocated for international tourism marketing.

According to Sawant, one panellist had even challenged government officials to complete the visa application themselves.

"This isn't a new problem," he wrote, adding that the article was "inevitable" because earlier warnings had not resulted in meaningful improvements.

At the same time, he cautioned against judging India's broader digital capabilities solely through one government website, saying, "Reality is better than one website."

While some users accepted the criticism as a reminder that public digital services need to improve, others questioned the publication's timing, intent and comparisons with similar systems in other countries.

For now, The Economist's observations have done more than revive discussion about one visa portal. They have prompted a broader conversation on how India's digital public services are perceived, both at home and abroad. And how user experience can be bettered.

- Ends