India Is Expected To Increase Spending On The New Vaccine Policy By $6 Billion.

• ByStartupStory     |    June 8, 2021

Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a new vaccine policy in his address to the nation on Monday, all citizens above the age of 18 years will be inoculated free of cost. The government will acquire 75% of the vaccine doses from the vaccine manufacturers, which includes 25% of the state quota. Up to 450 billion rupees ($6.18 billion), an increased amount would be spent by the government from its budgeted amount this fiscal year, which started on April 1. The previously budgeted amount was 350 million rupees. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, moreover announced the continuation of the free ration scheme until Diwali.

Modi’s previous policy of states to pay for immunizations for those above the age of 18 years was highly criticized. The bungled vaccine rollout covered fewer than 5% of India’s estimated youth population of about 950 million.

However, The country is currently using the AstraZeneca NSE 0.40 % vaccine produced by the Serum Institute of India, and another developed at home by Bharat Biotech. Russia’s Sputnik V was commercially launched in the country in the middle of the month.

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