Akankshya Mahapatra 
As the number of infections rises, so does the demand for vaccines in the country. Today, the Government of India has taken big steps to meet the demand for vaccines. The government has promised to provide Rs 65 crore in financial assistance to Bharat Biotech, which manufactures the Covaxin vaccine. The government will also provide Rs 65 crore to another company. A statement from India’s Department of Biotechnology said.
Covaxin was developed by Bharat Biotech with full indigenous technology. It has been available to people across the country since January 16. Now the central government will provide the money through ‘Self-reliant India 3.0 Mission Covid Security’.
The government said the production capacity of the covaxin would double by May-June. Similarly, by July-August, the capacity will increase 6 to 7 times. This means that Covaxin’s production capacity will increase from Rs 1 crore in April to Rs 7 crore in July-August. The government expects to produce about 10 crore doses by the end of September.
The Indian government is providing Rs 65 crore for the plant from Bengaluru, a biotech company in India. Using this money, Bharat Biotech will increase vaccine production there. In addition to Bharat Biotech, the central government has also announced financial assistance of Rs 65 crore for Haffkine Biopharmaceutical Corporation Ltd, which operates in Mumbai under the Maharashtra government.
The company is also funding the vaccine, which is expected to be produced at the company. The company asked for 12 months to prepare for the production. However, the government has said it will be ready within six months. It will produce 20 million kronor doses per month.
Indian Immunologicals Limited (IIL), Hyderabad and Bharat Immunologicals and Biologicals Limited (BIBCOL) have also said that the government will provide financial assistance to Bulandshahr to prepare for vaccine production. The company will produce between 10 and 15 million monthly doses by August-September.
