India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi. (Source: PIB)
5 years ago
Jun 07, 2021
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the nation at 5 p.m. today at a time when new Covid-19 cases in the country have started slowing after a deadly surge over the past two months.
Prime Minister Modi said that vaccine supply in the country will improve in the coming days.
"Seven companies are producing different vaccines in India. Three other vaccines are in advanced stage trials," Modi said. "To improve availability, we have also accelerated process to procure vaccines from foreign manufacturers. A nasal vaccine is also in development phase."
Prime Minister Modi said that social distancing, masks, vaccines and other Covid-related protocols continue to be the most effective way of tackling the virus.
"We continue to battle the second wave of coronavirus," Modi said. "Like other countries India has suffered too. This is the biggest pandemic in the past 100 years."
During this pandemic a new health infrastructure has come up.
In April, May India faced an unprecedented demand for oxygen.
We did our best to boost supply of oxygen and medicines.
Daily cases of Covid-19 in India have fallen to just over a lakh from their peak of more than four lakh cases a day in May. Modi had last addressed the nation in April and had urged states to try and avoid lockdowns as much as possible.
Modi's address also comes on the backdrop of weakening economic conditions as local restrictions to curb the second wave hurt businesses. Unemployment rate has risen to a 12-month high while demand for work under the government's flagship job guarantee has fallen to the lowest since April last year. Manufacturing activity has shown signs of stagnation and consumer confidence in May fell to an all-time low, according to the central bank.
The Centre is also rushing against time to make enough vaccines available to inoculate all adults by the end of the year. India's vaccination drive sputtered and slowed in May due to a shortage even as it allowed a wider target group to get inoculated.
The government's dual procurement vaccine policy has also come under criticism, including from the Supreme Court of India. The apex court has already ordered a review of the vaccine policy saying that it is "arbitrary and irrational".
The court has raised questions over procurement and distribution of vaccines and noted that mandatory online registration is a barrier to universal immunisation.
