Blog: Landing in Mumbai

Blog: Landing in Mumbai

  • Posted by @dmin-IndiaTrading
  • On January 18, 2022
  • 0 Comments
  • finance, India, investment

Last time I left Mumbai, was two days before the lockdown in March 2020.  Now back again, it is interesting to see how things have changed. I cannot speak for the rest of India, but Mumbai have taken many steps in the right direction.

But first, shortly about the travel.  Going to India now is no problem if you are prepared. Coronatest, visa, registration on Air Suvidha, some registration with the airline, a new corona test at landing and seven days home-quarantine.  We chose to fly with Qatar Airlines which went surprisingly easy.  And of course, travelling with my better half as a “guide” here in Mumbai does help!  

One of the biggest changes here is the payment system, and how things are synchronized in a better way. I can still remember November 2016, being in Goa and having to stand in a 200-meter queue for the ATM, since Prime minister Modi had demonetized 500- and 1000-rupee bills. Now it is more like being in Norway. Everywhere you go, you “must” pay with card. Going to my local supermarket or the shopping mall, many do not accept cash.  The larger players in internet payment like Google Pay etc. have grown very fast in India. I do not get paper-receipt either, everything is sent directly to my mobile phone. Btw, plastic bags are banned/ will be in July 2022 in the whole of India – something to consider for the Nordic countries?  

I have been ordering several things online with Ikea, Amazon, and other companies. The logistics runs smoothly, and transporters bring it all to my front door, which is on the 10th floor.  

And on the 7th day of home-quarantine I got a SMS from local authorities asking why I had not done the third corona test which was supposed to be done that day. So, we ran to the local testing area, and everything was registered directly with the right authorities.  

For Nordic people this might not seem like a big deal, but if you spent some time in India, even just a few years back, this is a large change.  There are many more things to mention, like the automation of amenities in the society we live, through their own app etc., which will be detailed later.