At least for the UK Consulate in NY, the visa application process is outsourced to a third party vendor who provide the interface etc. for you to fill in an electronic application form on a website that eventually get's forwarded to consular officers. Problem is the form does not necessarily provide enough space for you to fill in your answers.
I just applied and received a 10yr UK visa, the number of questions asked, including dates of all travel to the UK in the previous 10 years AND dates of all travel to all other countries in the last 10 years, can be very tedious to fill in. I have several passport books loaded with entry/exit stamps in the last 10 years, it took me several hours and filled up 2 sheets of paper writing dates, cities etc.

Visa application processes have become obstacle courses with often non-sensical information asked and no clarity or consistency on what basis visas are granted. Add to that the costs. $150 for a 10yr Indian visa laughable compared to the $986 the UK consulate charges for a 10yr UK visa.