This comes after the UK introduced its own travel curbs
India has announced a mandatory 10-day quarantine for all travellers coming into the country from the UK, irrespective of their vaccination status.
This is a reciprocal measure after the UK’s similar rules for residents of several countries including India.
The new regulations are set to come into force on October 4, 2021.
A statement said: “From October 4, all UK nationals arriving in India from the UK, irrespective of their vaccination status, will have to undertake three Covid-19 RT-PCR tests.
“Within 72 hours before travel, on arrival at the airport, and on Day 8 after arrival, and mandatory quarantine at home or in the destination address for 10 days after arrival in India.”
This comes after the UK introduced its own travel curbs in an attempt to change the “red, amber, green traffic light system” to a single red list of countries and “simplified travel measures” for arrivals from around the world.
These rules will also come into effect on October 4, 2021.
Under the rules, only people who have received two doses of Oxford-AstraZeneca, Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna or the single shot Janssen vaccine “under an approved vaccination program in the UK, Europe, US or UK vaccine programme overseas” will be considered fully vaccinated.
However, those who have not had a vaccine from these programmes will be considered “unvaccinated”.
This included Indians who have had two doses of Covishield (the local Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine).
This meant they will have to undergo 10 days of quarantine.
The UK government received backlash over its refusal to recognise travellers who have had India’s Covishield as vaccinated.
India’s Foreign Secretary Harsh Shringla called the rules “discriminatory” and warned that “reciprocal action” may be warranted.
Former Union minister Jairam Ramesh had accused the UK of “vaccine racism“, tweeting:
“Absolutely bizarre considering Covishield was originally developed in the UK and The Serum Institute, Pune has supplied to that country too!
“This smacks of racism.”
Meanwhile, former Health Secretary K Sujatha Rao said the matter was more of a market fight as opposed to racism.
She had said:
“We have so much stock to export and their (the UK) vaccine has a command of the export market and not India.”
“India’s production capacity is so huge and overwhelming so they’d like to bring as much of a discredit to the Indian vaccine as possible.
“So that could be one reason and that so many Indians are going to the UK so it is a good market for them.
“You have to pay for the hotel, you have to pay for the two vaccines they have to take.
“So this is another way of raising revenue for themselves.”
The UK later adjusted its rules to include Covishield, however, India is still not on the list of acceptable places to receive a vaccination.
British officials previously said that the issue was not the vaccine but with India’s “vaccination certification” process.
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