Economic Stimulus | Covid Vaccine Govt allocates Rs 900 crore for r & d of Covid-19 vaccine
New Delhi/IBNS: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday announced Rs 900 crore for research and development for Covid-19 while also assuring that the funds will be allocated for the cost of vaccine and logistics as per requirement.
The funds for the research have been transferred to the Department of Biotechnology as part of the government's stimulus package announcement by the finance minister.
“India is waiting for an effective vaccine to come - one or more. We are spending on research and development apart from what we will give when the vaccine is ready to be bought and distributed. We are also keeping abreast of the developments around the vaccine,” Sitharaman said.
Reacting to the announcement, Dr. Niranjan Hiranandani, President ASSOCHAM, said, “By allocating Rs 900 crore for the research & development for Covid vaccine, the government has once again proved that it does not let go off the focus on the core issues while taking care of the rest of the problem."
However, analysts said it is not clear whether the allocated money will be used to fund clinical trials.
Sitharaman said the government is still assessing the impact of Covid-19 on the economy and working on stimulus package.
This is the first financial package the government announced for Coronavirus vaccine.
Many developed countries like the US, Japan and UK, and many others have already paid drug companies in advance to ensure supply of billions of doses of vaccines as soon as they hit the shelves.
