Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday said that India has made a remarkable contribution over the decades in vaccine production and now supplies nearly 60 per cent of the world’s demand.
Addressing a book launch event, the finance minister said India has a singular contribution in terms of vaccine production which is being supplied to the world.
“Over the decades India has, of course, made a remarkable contribution nearly 60 per cent of all the vaccines which are used in the world are produced in India.
Therefore, India has a singular contribution to the world in terms of vaccination and that which is being produced and supplied to the entire world,” Sitharaman said.
In her speech, she also talked about how India contributed in providing immunity to the world, where she said, “India’s DNA has this temperament to be able to build something to bring an immunity into public life into citizens and the way in which it has progressed today to the extent that we could produce a vaccine during the COVID lockdown period and that vaccine was just saved so many of our lives.” She lauded the effort in the country for double vaccination of every citizen and mentioned that it is not easy to execute.
“Vaccine has just saved so many of our lives. And today we are very clearly double dosing every citizen, it is not easy, both to produce to also execute it at that scale,” she said.
Sitharaman was talking at the book launch of Sajjan Singh Yadav, Additional Secretary in the Finance Ministry.
The book is titled ‘India’s Vaccine Growth Story – From Cowpox to Vaccine Maitry’. Union Finance Secretary T V Somanathan was also present at the event and said the book is written in a lucid and non-technical way, with anecdotes that make it very interesting to read.
Yadav has treated a very dry subject and made it interesting to read even to a layman.
The book essentially captures the “whole Government” approach, the untiring efforts of our scientists, entrepreneurs and health experts, accelerated regulatory approach and liberal financial support towards readying two India-made vaccines, Somanathan said.
The book also dwells on the changed perception of the world towards a new India, which is leading the globe in many areas. Vaccines are one such sector where India has become an undisputed leader.
