The Narendra Modi government has set aside about Rs 500 billion to vaccinate the world’s second-most populous nation against Covid-19, reported Bloomberg quoting people with knowledge of the matter.
The government estimates an all-in cost of about Rs 500 per person in the nation of 1.3 billion, the people said, asking not to be identified as the details are private. The money provisioned so far is for the current financial year ending 31 March and there will be no shortage of further funds for this purpose, they added.
PM Modi on Tuesday had said his government would ensure all Indians have access to a Covid-19 vaccine as soon it is ready.
In the meantime, India recorded 55,839 cases in last 24 hours, taking the tally to 77,06,946. Death toll rose to 116,653. The country recorded a test positivity rate of 4.99 per cent, a massive decline from the rate of almost 8 per cent at the start of September.
Maharashtra continues to be worst affected state in the country which reported 7,539 new Covid-19 cases, 198 deaths and 16,177 discharges in the last 24 hours. Total cases in the state rise to 16,25,197, including 42,831 deaths and 14,31,856 recovered patients. Active cases stand at 1,50,011.
The national capital Delhi reported 3,882 new Covid-19 cases, 2,727 recoveries and 35 deaths in last 24 hours. The overall Covid-19 tally in Delhi rose to 3,44,318, including 3,12,918 recoveries and 6,163 deaths. Active cases stand at 25,237.
Gujarat reported coronavirus infection tally mounted to 164,121 after 1,136 people tested positive. The death toll due to the virus went up to 3,670 as seven more persons succumbed to the infection in the last 24 hours. A total of 1,201 patients also recovered during this period. The state currently has 14,143 active cases.
Punjab reported 617 new Covid-19 cases, 935 discharged cases and 12 deaths in last twenty-four hours, taking total positive cases to 1,29,693, including 1,21,155 discharges, 4,466 active cases and 4,072 deaths.
Haryana reported 1,128 fresh cases, 14 more deaths in last 24 hours. State count mounts to 1,54,495, active cases 10,009, cured 1,42,798, death toll rises to 1,688, fatality rate remains 1.09 per cent. Uttarakhand reported 402 new Covid-19 cases in last 24 hours, 568 patients cured. Total cases in the state rise to 59,508 including 53,200 recoveries and 968 deaths.
The Covid-19 death count in Uttar Pradesh rose to 6,790 with 35 more fatalities, while 2,402 fresh cases pushed the infection tally to 4,63,858. The recovery rate is presently 92.25 per cent.
Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu became the fourth state in the country to cross seven lakh coronavirus cases with 3,077 new infections while the death toll touched 10,825 with 45 more fatalities. While the tally of positive cases stood at 7,00,193, the state capital accounted for 1,93,299.
Andhra Pradesh continued to report a high number of new Covid-19 cases as the state’s tally inched closer to the 800,000-mark. With 3,620 new cases added to the state’s overall tally that now reached 7,96,919. A total of 3,723 patients got cured, taking the cumulative recoveries to 758,138.
Karnataka reported 5,778 new Covid-19 cases, 13,550 discharges and 74 deaths in the last 24 hours. Total number of cases now stand at 7,88,551 including 92,927 active cases, 6,84,835 discharges and 10,770 deaths.
Kerala reported 7,482 new Covid-19 cases and 23 deaths in last twenty-four hours. Active cases in the state stand at 93,291.
WITH AGENCY INPUTS