India is planning to do away with RT-PCR test report for fully vaccinated travellers

Domestic travel could get a lot easier for fully vaccinated travellers in India. The Government of India is now planning to stop mandatory RT-PCR tests for passengers if they have taken both shots of the vaccine.
As the country sees a decline in the number of COVID-19 daily cases, a new route map is being crafted for secure travel and more.

Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of Civil Aviation said in a statement, “A joint team from several ministries and stakeholders, including the Health Department, are in discussion to take a final decision on allowing travelling by air without an RT-PCR test for those who have received both doses of a Covid-19 vaccine.”

Currently, domestic travel requires you to get an RT-PCR test done, and show the negative report before travel. Health experts are also working with the government to help determine whether fully vaccinated people can travel with an RT-PCR test report.

The Civil Aviation Minister also said that health is a state subject, and it is upto the state to ask passengers for a negative RT-PCR test report before they can enter the state. On the other hand, India has also observed that the vaccine passport that is being popularised internationally is probably a discriminatory move.

Harsh Vardhan, Union Health Minister, commented during the G7 countries’ meeting, “With vaccine coverage as a percentage of population in developing countries is still low compared to developed countries, such an initiative could prove to be highly discriminatory."