India has abolished the pre-departure RT-PCR test mandate for travellers arriving from China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Singapore, and Thailand. International passengers travelling from the above countries to India will no longer be required to undergo RTPCR tests before their departure/transit from these countries and upload the Covid-19 negative RTPCR test report on the Air Suvidha portal. The new rule will be effective from February 13, 2023 (11 AM India Standard Time).
It may be noted that on December 29, 2022, India’s Federal Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya announced that the RT-PCR test would be mandatory from January 1, 2023, for international passengers travelling to India from the six countries mentioned above and that the test must be conducted within 72 hours of undertaking the journey to India. It was a precautionary measure when Covid-19 cases in these countries were rising.
A letter dated February 9, 2023, by Rajesh Bhushan, Secretary of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, to the Secretary of the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Rajiv Bansal, stated that these six countries had seen a sustained and significant reduction in Covid-19 cases over the past four weeks. Within India, fewer than 100 cases are being reported daily.
As a result, the compulsory test and uploading of results on the air suvidha portal have been removed. However, Bhushan mentioned that randomly testing 2% of travellers for Covid-19 upon arrival would continue.
It may be noted at the time of publishing this story; these changes have not been officially posted on the website of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
However, the news has brought relief to many Kiwi-Indians who were planning/had planned their travel to India via the above counties.
Talking to Indian Weekender, Harmanpreet Kaur, a resident of Papatoetoe, who had already booked her tickets to Delhi from March 2 visa Cathay Pacific airlines with a stay at Hong Kong along with her two kids aged 5, and 3, said, "I am so happy that I don't have to spend extra money to get the RTPCR test now. Also, I was stressed thinking about what would happen if the test returned positive. Thank god I do not have to go through that hassle now.”
Another Kiwi-Indian named Preet Singh, who is planning a trip to Delhi next month, said, "It is such wonderful news. Thinking about all the hassle I will have to go through to get the RT-PCR test, I was thinking of avoiding travelling through the six countries, namely China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Singapore, and Thailand. I was planning to book my ticket through Dubai, but with this news, I can look for more options. It is such a relief."