INDIAN GOVERNMENT WORKING TO MAKE INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL EASY: S JAISHANKAR

Given the current COVID situation, the Indian government is working on making overseas travel easy for Indians. India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said that it is his top priority to make travel convenient for Indian with fewer restrictions in place. The Minister also said that he hopes that Covaxin, one of the majorly used vaccines in India, gets WHO approval soon.

In an event held virtually, Jaishankar said, “As a country whose people look at the world as a global workplace, it is up there in my priority.” There are several nations that are not asking for vaccination certificates but for the RT-PCR test to be done at the airport, including the US.

He further explained that as of now, it is an issue as the US is not giving permission to people, who have stayed for a long time in India, to go to the US directly. Reportedly, the US is still testing people and entry is test-report based rather than vaccine based.
Acknowledging the issue about Indian vaccines, he said that Covishield is approved but Covaxin is not. The government will get some indication by September about the same.

He also said that the government is expecting a certain “push and pull” from countries on vaccine certification.