Serum Institute of India (SII) CEO Adar Poonawalla on Tuesday, 20 April, thanked PM Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for “decisive policy changes and swift financial aid, which will help vaccine production and distribution in India”.
Poonawalla’s message thanking the two came a day after the Finance Minister agreed to sanction supply credit to COVID-19 vaccine manufactures Bharat Biotech and SII.
The ministry cleared a credit of Rs 3,000 crore for SII and Rs 1,500 crore for Bharat Biotech.
The decision to sanction funds for the two pharmaceutical companies came after Poonawalla requested the government for a Rs 3,000-crore grant to ramp up production capacity of the COVID-19 vaccine beyond 100 million doses a month.
Serum Institute of India, based in Pune, produces the Oxford-Astra Zeneca vaccine, which is marketed as Covishield in India.
The Centre on Monday announced that those above 18 years of age would be eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine from 1 May.
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