India terms UK's new travel guidelines 'discriminatory'

Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan has said that a quick resolution will come out on the issue of recognizing Covishied vaccine and the Co-WIN vaccination certificate by the United Kingdom.

New Delhi: Terming the new travel guidelines issued by the UK government as discriminatory, India on Thursday said that it will reciprocate in a similar manner.
"We believe that the new dispensation is a discriminatory practice. However, as a sovereign nation we will also reciprocate in a similar manner," said Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan in New Delhi.

Rajesh Bhushan, however, said talks are on between both the countries on the issue. "We believe that a quick resolution will come out," said Bhushan while replying to a query over India's stand on the new guidelines issued by the UK. The UK government in its latest guidelines allowed Oxford-AstraZeneca, Pfizer BioNTech and Moderna formulation as approved vaccines. Ironically, the guidelines denied Oxford-AstraZeneca's Covishield vaccine manufactured in India as an approved vaccine.

Indians need to go for a mandatory quarantine and RT PCR test once they landed in the UK. India has already opposed such "discriminatory guidelines." The British government has raised objections to the process of the certificate issued by Co-WIN. Technical level talks are currently underway in this matter.

Following the development, British High Commissioner to India Alex Ellis had a detailed discussion over the issue with Co-WIN chief RS Sharma. "Excellent technical discussion with RS Sharma. Neither side raised technical concerns with each other's certification process. An important step forward in our joint aim is to facilitate travel and fully protect the public health of the UK and India," Ellis tweeted after the meeting.

Earlier, Sarma said that Co-WIN is one of the best vaccine portals and the entire process is digital. The digital certificate is also verifiable. The matter was already raised by Indian foreign minister S Jaishankar with his British counterpart Elizabeth Truss on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York on Tuesday. A senior official in the health ministry said that the UK is also using the AstraZeneca vaccine to a large extent. "We are using the same vaccine as the UK is using. There can't be any scientific rationale for this discrimination," said the official.