India has dropped its mandatory pre-departure COVID-19 testing requirements for all passengers coming from or via China, Singapore, Hong Kong, South Korea, Thailand, and Japan, effective today. However, as a precautionary measure, the country will continue random testing of all international passengers.
India had imposed the rule to present negative test report prior to arrival following the news of recent pandemic outbreak in China. Passengers from the above countries had to upload their negative test results to an Indian government website, known as the 'Air Suvidha' portal.
Now with the number of cases declining, India is all set to drop the mandatory requirement from today, i.e February 13, 2023.
The updated guidelines for International Arrivals states: “Given the decline in coronavirus cases, the ministry is dropping the existing requirements of pre-departure COVID-19 testing and uploading of the Self-Health Declaration on the Ministry of Civil Aviation's 'Air Suvidha' portal applicable for international travelers coming from/via China, Singapore, Hong Kong, Republic of Korea, Thailand and Japan.