Govt exempts G20 delegates, participants arriving in India from random Covid testing at airports

Pic Credit: File Photo

New Delhi: Delegates and participants arriving in India to participate in G20 events in the country will be exempted from the 2 percent random Covid testing rule for international arrivals, according to a top government official. "This has been noted on the request of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) to the Ministry of Health Family and Welfare (MoHFW) and the Ministry of Civil Aviation has been asked to inform all stakeholders at airports," the official told ANI.

The Government of India has decided to exempt the delegates and participants arriving to attend the G20 meetings in the country till November 2023, from 2 percent mandatory random Covid-19 testing at the airports, a top government official said.

India is hosting the G20 summit this year after taking over the presidency of the G20 Forum from Indonesia.

The MEA had requested for this exemption

The MEA had on Wednesday requested the aviation ministry for this exemption on Wednesday till November 2023. The ministry of civil aviation (MoCA) has informed all airports and their operators, the official said.

India`s Health Ministry recently issued an advisory to all the stakeholders to mandate 2 percent random Covid-19 testing for international passengers as a sudden global surge in the cases of coronavirus infection was reported. As per the issued advisory, the passengers arriving in India from designated high-risk countries [China, Singapore, Hong Kong, South Korea, Thailand, and Japan] would have to fill out an Air Suvidha form along with a negative RT-PCR report within 72 hours of their arrival in India.

India's G-20 presidency

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has termed the G-20 presidency as "a big opportunity for India". All the G20 countries-- Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the European Union-- are set to attend the meetings and events in India.