Government focused on ramping up production of vaccines: FM Sitharaman

India will have a larger supply of vaccines in the coming months, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said Friday, adding that the government was taking concrete steps to increase production of vaccines in India besides importing ready to use vaccines.

“The country has opened itself up for all those, whether it is Japanese or European Union or the US approved vaccines or anything which is certified by such authorities to come and manufacture in India for India and the world,” she told reporters.

She added that negotiations were being held with vaccine suppliers and manufacturers in a similar way as those being held with Pfizer to ensure the availability of vaccines to Indians. “In the coming months the supply will also be far more than what it is now,” she said in response to a question on the government’s plan to vaccinate everyone in the country by end of the year which was announced on Friday.


Earlier in the day, opposition party Congress said India will be able to vaccinate its entire population only by May 2024. “We are constantly engaging with a lot of these suppliers and also manufacturers of vaccine like the way negotiations are being held with Pfizer,” Sitharaman said.