India crosses mega 200-crore Covid vaccine milestone

Eighteen months after launching the nationwide Covid vaccination drive, India crossed a major milestone - that of administering over 200 crore vaccines.

The vaccination drive began on 16 January 2021. India had crossed the 100-crore milestone 277 days after launching of the drive. The highest single-day tally of jabs has been 2.5 crore on 17 September 2021.

Reacting to the development, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that India had created history again. The PM congratulated the nation, while expressing pride in those who contributed to making the vaccination drive "unparalleled in scale and speed". Modi added that throughout the process, Indians showed "remarkable faith in science".

Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya called the vaccination journey a "mighty epitome of Sabka Prayas", which is a part of the Modi government's motto of "Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas, Sabka Prayaas".

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India currently has over 1.4 lakh active cases, with more than 20,500 new cases being recorded between 16 and 17 July.