Pandemic has shown Indian pharma sector an asset for world: PM Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today highlighted the contribution of India’s pharmaceutical industry in the production of vaccines for the world and described the industry in the search for a coronavirus vaccine.
PM Modi said at the India Global Week 2020, a virtual conference organised in the UK, that vaccines made in India are responsible for two-thirds of the vaccine needs of the world’s children. Today, Indian companies are active in international efforts for the development and production of Covid-19 vaccine, he added.
The prime minister also cited the role of Indian pharma firms in reducing the cost of medicines. He said that India’s pharma industry is an asset not just for India but for the entire world.
India’s first potential coronavirus vaccine, Covaxin, has been jointly developed by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and Bharat Biotech International Limited (BBIL) and has been cleared for human trials.
The coronavirus pandemic has affected more than 7.67 lakh Indians and claimed over 21,000 lives so far.
Bharat Biotech, a Hyderabad-based firm, is among the seven Indian firms working on coronavirus vaccines. The company was the first to get the regulatory approval to begin phase 1 and phase 2 human trials to test a vaccine named Covaxin for efficacy and safety.
The prime minister also invited the world to invest in India, saying that the Indian economy is already “putting up green shoots of recovery”. He said that India is rolling out a red carpet for all global companies to come and establish their presence in the country. Very few nations will offer the kind of opportunities India does today.
Inviting the 5,000-plus delegates at the event to invest in India anywhere from the agriculture sector to the defence and space industry, PM Modi said that Indians have the spirit to achieve what is believed to be impossible… India is ready to do whatever it can to further global good and prosperity. This is an India that is reforming, performing and transforming.
Reforms have been made in the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises sector, which will complement big industry, the Prime Minister said, underscoring the recent loan initiative to boost the flagging MSME sector, which has been hit hard by the lockdown.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal are also likely to speak at the meet.
According to a statement by the Prime Minister’s Office on Wednesday, UK’s Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab and Home Secretary Priti Patel, US Ambassador to India Ken Juster and others will address the event.