'No funds': Realities of India's Covid-19 vaccine funding

The Union Health Ministry, Indian Council of Medical Research and DBT said they didn’t receive any money from a Rs 100 crore PM-CARES fund

The Department of Biotechnology has disbursed less than 15 per cent of its Rs 900 crore fund on Covid-19 vaccine development promised more than a year ago while multiple government research agencies say they haven’t received any funding from a Rs 100 crore corpus set up under the PMO during the first wave of the pandemic.

The Union Health Ministry, Indian Council of Medical Research and DBT said they didn’t receive any money from a Rs 100 crore PM-CARES (Citizens Assistance Relief in Emergency Situations) fund as announced by the government way back in May, 2020.

The Rs 100 crore fund for vaccine development was a part of a Rs 3,100 package under PM-CARES to purchase 50,000 ventilators and undertake relief measures for migrant workers, who were affected the most during the lockdown period.

A top official told DH that the PM CARES fund could be given to the industry as well but since neither the industry nor the PM CARES come under the ambit of the RTI, it would be difficult to know the recipients of the money unless the PMO discloses.

Also read: Govt expert panel recommends regular market approval for Covishield, Covaxin

A few months down the line, the Union government launched Rs 900 crore Mission Covid Suraksha to back indigenous vaccine development through the Department of Biotechnology. Launched in November 2020, the first phase of the project was valid for 12 months.

But 14 months later, just about Rs 116 crore has been disbursed to five companies engaged in Covid-19 vaccine development whereas Rs 78.96 lakh was given to Faridabad-based Translational Health Science and Technology Institute for supportive R&D.

This has been disclosed by Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) – a wing of the DBT - to the transparency activist Commodore Lokesh K Batra responding to his RTI query.

Those who have received the funding are Biological E Ltd (Rs 22.50 crore), Gennova Biopharmaceuticals Ltd (Rs 22.50 crore), Cadila Healthcare Ltd (Rs 40 crore), Bharat Biotech (Rs 23.73 crore) and Genique Lifesciences (Rs 6.47 crore).

Government sources told DH that funds were released following a “milestone approach” in which achievement of a company (fund recipient) is reviewed after each milestone before releasing the next installment. “We have committed Rs 900 crore,” said a BIRAC official.

India has so far used Covishield, Covaxin and Sputnik-V vaccines in one of the world’s largest Covid-19 vaccination programmes in which nearly 160 crore doses have been administered.

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