Union Ministry of Health has finalised arrangements with Hyderabad based vaccine manufacturer Biological-E to reserve 30 crore of COVID-19 vaccine doses. These vaccine doses will be manufactured and stockpiled by M/s Biological-E from August-December 2021. For this purpose, the Union Ministry of Health would be making an advance payment of Rs. 1500 crore to M/s Biological-E.
The COVID-19 vaccine of Biological-E is currently undergoing Phase-3 clinical trial after showing promising results in Phase 1 and 2 clinical trials. The vaccine being developed by Biological-E is a RBD protein sub-unit vaccine and is likely to be available in the next few months.
The proposal of M/s Biological-E was examined and recommended for approval after due diligence by National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for COVID-19 (NEGVAC).
The arrangement with M/s Biological-E is part of the wider endeavour of Government of India to encourage indigenous vaccine manufacturers by providing them support in Research & Development (R&D) and also financial support.
Biological-E COVID Vaccine candidate has been supported by Government of India from Preclinical stage to Phase-3 studies. Department of Biotechnology has not only provided financial assistance in terms of grant-in-aid of over Rs 100 cr but has also partnered with Biological-E to conduct all animal challenge and assay studies through its Research Institute Translational Health Science Technology Institute (THSTI), Faridabad.
This has been undertaken as part of Government of India's ‘Mission COVID Suraksha- the Indian COVID-19 Vaccine Development Mission’ which was launched to reinforce and accelerate COVID-19 vaccine development efforts as part of the third stimulus package, Atmanirbhar 3.0.
The Mission aims to bring to the citizens a safe, efficacious, affordable and accessible COVID-19 Vaccine. The Mission is supporting development of 5-6 COVID-19 vaccine candidates. Some of these are now closer to licensure and introduction in public health systems. It has not just accelerated COVID-19 Vaccine development efforts, but also fostered a robust end-to-end vaccine development ecosystem in the country that will be available for other on-going and future research and developmental activities for other vaccines.
India has reported 1,34,154 Daily New Cases in the last 24 hours. The country has recorded less than 2 lakh Daily New Cases for 7 continuous days now. This is a result of collaborative efforts by the Centre and the States/UTs.
India has been witnessing a continuous fall in the active caseload. 17,13,413 active cases have been reported today.
A net decline of 80,232 is witnessed in the last 24 hours and active cases are now only 6.02%of the country's total Positive Cases.
India’s Daily Recoveries continue to outnumber the Daily New Cases for the 21st consecutive day. 2,11,499 recoveries were registered in the last 24 hours.
77,345 more recoveries were reported during the last 24 hours as compared to the daily new cases.
Out of the people infected since beginning of the pandemic 2,63,90,584 people have already recovered from COVID-19 & 2,11,499 patients have recovered in the last 24 hours. This constitutes an overall recovery rate of 92.79%, which is showing an increasing trend.
A total of 21,59,873 tests were conducted in the last 24 hours in the country and cumulatively India has conducted over 35.3 crore (35,37,82,648) tests so far.
While on one side testing has been enhanced across the country, a continued decline in weekly case positivity is noticed. Weekly Positivity Rate is currently at 7.66% while the Daily Positivity rate has reduced and is at 6.21% today. It has remained less than 10% for 10 consecutive days now.
The cumulative number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country has exceeded 22.10 Cr today under the Nationwide Vaccination Drive.
A total of 22,10,43,693 vaccine doses have been administered through 31,24,981 sessions, as per the provisional report till 7 am today.
These include:
As part of the nationwide vaccination drive, Government of India has been supporting the States and UTs by providing them COVID Vaccines free of cost. In addition, the Govt. of India has also been facilitating direct procurement of vaccines by the States/UTs. Vaccination is an integral pillar of the comprehensive strategy of Government of India for containment and management of the pandemic, along with Test, Track, Treat and COVID Appropriate Behaviour.
Implementation of the Liberalized and Accelerated Phase-3 Strategy of Covid-19 Vaccination has started from 1st May 2021.
Under the Strategy, in every month 50% of the total Central Drugs Laboratory (CDL) cleared vaccine doses of any manufacturer would be procured by Govt. of India. It would continue to make these doses available to the State Govts totally free of cost as was being done earlier.
Government of India has so far provided, both through the free of cost category and through direct state procurement category, more than 23 crore vaccine doses (23,35,86,960) to States/UTs.
Of this, the total consumption, including wastages is 21,71,44,022 doses (as per data available at 8 AM today).
More than 1.64 crore COVID Vaccine doses (1,64,42,938) are still available with the States/UTs to be administered.
India reports 1.32 Lakh Daily New Cases; declining trend in new cases maintained.
India's Active Caseload further declines below 20 lakhsand is presently at17,93,645
Active Cases decrease by 1,01,875in last 24 hours
2,61,79,085total Recoveries across the country so far.
2,31,456patients recovered during last 24 hours.
Recoveries continue to outnumber the Daily New Cases for the 20th consecutive day
Recovery Rate increases to 92.48%
Weekly Positivity Rate currently at 8.21%
Daily positivity rate at 6.57%, less than 10% for 9 consecutive days.
Testing capacity substantially ramped up- 35 cr tests total conducted
21.85 Cr. Vaccine Doses administered so far under Nationwide Vaccination Drive
Minister of Railways, Commerce & Industry, Consumer Affairs and Food & Public Distribution Minister Shri PiyushGoyal today met with Industry Associations and reviewed their preparedness to meet the present and future challenges because of Covid-19 pandemic.
Shri PiyushGoyal said that the second wave of COVID-19 has been difficult for all of us. Appreciating the industry for its pro-active role, he said that it is your resilience & commitment that is ensuring our comeback with greater strength. He expressed that our economy will bounce back soon post-Covid successfully.
The Minister said that today’s interaction was a great opportunity for all of us to reflect & prepare a roadmap for the times ahead. He said that if 2nd wave has taught us anything, preparing for the future means that we learn from past experiences and start working to mitigate that risk from today itself.
Shri Goyal said that Indian economy is witnessing a robust recovery & is on track to surpass pre COVID-19 levels. He said the FDI during COVID-19 period has been the highest ever, as we have FDI of US$ 81.72 bn in FY 2020-21, more than 10% than FY 2019-20. There was a Record Freight loading as Railways loaded highest ever freight of 114.8 MT in May 2021 which is 9.7% higher than previous best of 104.6 MT in May 2019. Since last 9 months, Railways is continuously loading highest ever freight in respective months. Speaking about the rebound of foreign Trade, he said the exports in Apr’21 have surpassed the pre COVID-19 figures. Merchandise exports in Apr’21 were US$30.63 bn, up by ~18% compared to Apr’19. Even during May’21, when the daily active cases were peaking in the country, the Exports did very well.
Shri Goyal said that in the recent past, due to rapid rise in Covid-19 cases, the industrial production was severely impacted due to lockdowns, non-availability of oxygen, migration of workers, and the spread of the Corona virus amongst the workforce. It is expected from industry associations to draw upon the lessons learnt from past experiences to meet the present and future challenges. He said that we should focus on Learnings to build resilience for future outbreaks by building Adequate Health facilities He called upon the Industry Associations to help the children impacted by COVID-19 whose parents died due to covid-19. He said that an institutional mechanism may be set up to deal with such situations. The Minister called them to include adaptability & mobility into planning.
Shri Goyal said that we should find an equitable balance between the Lives and Livelihoods. Besides strengthening the health facilities, the Minister talked about providing housing to migrant workers near the site, Encouraging Remote working, Vaccinating all stakeholders on ‘mission mode’, and instrumental role to be played by Industry Associations in knowledge transfer to build resilience in Industry.
Shri Goyal called upon the industry associations to prepare a comprehensive checklist that needs to be followed for a possible 3rd COVID wave, covering various measures. Welcoming any action oriented plans & suggestions which can be implemented quickly to catalyse growth, Shri Goyal assured full support from the Government in overcoming the bottlenecks and hurdles. He said that DPIIT and DGFT have been running helplines to support their stakeholders.
Industry representatives, including those from CII, FICCI, ASSOCHAM, PHD chambers of commerce and industry, and others shared their experiences and preparedness in case of a 3rd wave of Covid-19 occurs. They also put forth their suggestions how to mitigate the covid-19 impact on human life as well as the economy. The representatives assured that Indian Industry is fully prepared to face any eventuality in future as they have set up a number of Covid-19 Centres in different cities across the country and industry has ramped up the oxygen production manifolds.
As part of continued decline in the daily new cases,India has reported 1.32 lakh New Cases in the last 24 hours.1,32,788Daily New Cases were registered in the last 24 hours.
The country has recorded less than 2 lakh Daily New Cases for 6 continuous days now.
India has been witnessing a continuous fall in the active caseload.17,93,645 active cases have been reported today.
A net decline of 1,01,875is witnessed in the last 24 hours and active cases are now only6.34%of the country's total Positive Cases.
India’s Daily Recoveries continue to outnumber the Daily New Cases for the 20th consecutive day. 2,31,456recoveries were registered in the last 24 hours.
98,668more recoveries were reported during the last 24 hours as compared to the daily new cases.
Out of the people infected since beginning of the pandemic 2,61,79,085people have already recovered from COVID-19 &2,31,456patients have recovered in the last 24 hours. This constitutes an overall recovery rate of92.48%, which is showing an increasing trend.
A total of 20,19,773 tests were conducted in the last 24 hours in the country and cumulatively India has conducted over 35 crore (35,00,57,330) tests so far.
While on one side testing has been enhanced across the country, a continued decline in weekly case positivity is noticed. Weekly Positivity Rate is currently at 8.21% while the Daily Positivity rate has reduced and is at 6.57% today. It has remained less than 10% for 9 consecutive days now.
The cumulative number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country has exceeded 21.85 Cr today under the Nationwide Vaccination Drive.
A total of 21,85,46,667vaccine doses have been administered through 30,91,543 sessions, as per the provisional report till 7 am today.
These include:
The Department of Pharmaceuticals, with an objective to attain self-reliance and reduce import dependence in critical Bulk Drugs - Key Starting Materials (KSMs)/ Drug Intermediates and Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs), had launched a Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for promotion of their domestic manufacturing by setting up greenfield plants with minimum domestic value addition in four different Target Segments (In Two Fermentation based - at least 90% and in Two Chemical Synthesis based – at least 70% ) with a total outlay of Rs.6,940 cr. for the period 2020-21 to 2029-30.
All the 215 applications received for the 36 products spread across the 4 Target Segments were considered and appraised as per the decided evaluation and selection criteria by the Empowered Committee in its various meetings and selected participants duly informed and Press Notes issued with approval of the Competent Authority.
Now, waitlisted applicants who are otherwise eligible have been approved against slots vacated by withdrawal by companies, which had earlier been granted approvals. The applications of the companies kept in ‘Wait List’, which have committed minimum/more than the minimum proposed annual production capacities and fulfil the prescribed criteria have been approved, as under:
With this, a total of 46 applications with Committed Investment of Rs.5,355.44 crore and Expected Employment Generation of about 11,210have been approved by the Government so far under the PLI Scheme for Bulk Drugs. Setting up of these plants will make the country self-reliant to a large extent in respect of these Bulk drugs. The disbursal of production linked incentive by the Government over the six years period would be up to a maximum of about Rs.6,000 cr.
As part of the nationwide vaccination drive, Government of India has been supporting the States and UTs by providing them COVID Vaccines free of cost. In addition, the Govt. of India has also been facilitating direct procurement of vaccines by the States/UTs. Vaccination is an integral pillar of the comprehensive strategy of Government of India for containment and management of the pandemic, along with Test, Track, Treat and COVID Appropriate Behaviour.
Implementation of the Liberalized and Accelerated Phase-3 Strategy of Covid-19 Vaccination has started from 1st May 2021.
Under the Strategy, in every month 50% of the total Central Drugs Laboratory (CDL) cleared vaccine doses of any manufacturer would be procured by Govt. of India. It would continue to make these doses available to the State Govts totally free of cost as was being done earlier.
Government of India has so far provided, both through the free of cost category and through direct state procurement category, more than 22.46 crore vaccine doses (22,46,08,010) to States/UTs.
Of this, the total consumption, including wastages is 20,48,04,853 doses (as per data available at 8 AM today).
More than 1.84 crore COVID Vaccine doses (1,84,92,677) are still available with the States/UTs to be administered.
Furthermore, 3 lakh (3,20,380) vaccine doses are in the pipeline and will be received by the States/UTs within the next 3 days.
India reports lowest Daily New Cases of 1.52 Lakh in 50 days; declining trend in new cases maintained.
India's Active Caseload further declines to 20,26,092
Active Cases decrease by 88,416 in last 24 hours
2,56,92,342 total Recoveries across the country so far.
2,38,022 patients recovered during last 24 hours.
Recoveries continue to outnumber the Daily New Cases for the 18th consecutive day
Recovery Rate increases to 91.60%
Weekly Positivity Rate currently at 9.04%
Daily positivity rate at 9.07%, less than 10% for 7 consecutive days.
Testing capacity substantially ramped up - 34.48 cr tests total conducted
21.3 Cr. Vaccine Doses administered so far under Nationwide Vaccination Drive
Government of India has been supporting the efforts of States and UTs towards vaccinating all people aged 18 years and above with priority being given to the Healthcare and Frontline Workers. CoWIN has been developed as a platform to manage vaccinations across the country.
There have been some media reports suggesting that even a successful booking on the CoWIN platform for a vaccination slot does not assure one of a Covid-19 vaccine jab. These reports are baseless and incorrect, not supported by full information on the matter.
Co-WIN platform facilitates registration (in both online & on-site modes), scheduling of appointments, vaccination & certification of beneficiary during COVID-19 vaccination process.
Availability of slots on Co-WIN Portal is based on the vaccination schedule published by District Immunization Officer (DIO)/Session site in-charge which in turn depends upon availability of vaccines. States/UTs have been advised that they should publish vaccination slots based on the availability of vaccines. The Union Government has also instructed all States/UTs to give preference to beneficiaries with online appointments than to on-site registrations. It was noticed that in some cases the DIOs were publishing a session and then in case vaccines were in short supply, the DIOs used to cancel such sessions or return the beneficiaries. This definitely caused inconvenience to such beneficiaries who booked their appointments for such vaccination centres/ sessions. To remove this problem, CoWIN has now provided the feature for rescheduling of vaccination sessions so that the DIO does not have to cancel the sessions. Provision has also been made that pre-booked appointments for a session, also get rescheduled when a session is rescheduled. In such cases now the beneficiary shall not have taken a fresh appointment. The beneficiaries shall also receive an SMS informing them about rescheduling of their session. The system still provides the option of rescheduling/ cancellation of an appointment to the beneficiaries.