Rome [Italy]: India is preparing to produce more than 5 billion COVID-19 vaccine doses for the world next year to fight against the pandemic, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at the first session of the G-20 Summit in Rome on Saturday. Speaking at the first session on the global economy and global health, PM Modi said, “India has always been serious about its global obligations. Today, on this G-20 platform, I want to tell you all that India is preparing to produce more than 5 billion vaccine doses for the world next year.” In his address, the Prime Minister spoke about the recognition of Indian COVID-19 vaccine certificates. He said, “This commitment of India will go a long way in preventing the global infection of COVID-19. Therefore, it is necessary that Indian vaccines be recognised by WHO at the earliest.” PM Modi stressed the ‘One Earth, One Health’ vision of a collaborative approach in dealing with the COVID-19, Prime Minister’s Office said in a press release. “To fight the corona global pandemic, we have put forward the vision of One Earth – One Health to the world. To deal with any such crisis in future, this vision can become a huge force in the world,” said PM Modi. PM Modi highlighted India’s contribution in the fight against COVID-19 and said India is playing the role of pharmacy of the world. India has delivered medicines to more than 150 countries. Along with this, India has also put full strength in increasing vaccine research and manufacturing. He also highlighted that in a short span of time, India has administered over one billion vaccine doses in India. “By controlling the infection in one-sixth of the world’s population, India has also contributed to making the world safer, and has also reduced the chances of further mutation of the virus,” he said. PM Modi stressed that the COVID-19 pandemic has alerted the world to the need for a reliable supply chain. In this situation, India has emerged as a reliable manufacturing hub. The Prime Minister also invited G-20 countries to make India a trusted partner in their economic recovery and supply chain diversification. “I invite the G-20 countries to make India a trusted partner in their economic recovery and supply chain diversification,” he said, adding that “I am happy when leaders like you, during the meetings, appreciate how India has played the role of a Trusted Partner.” Modi also thanked the G-20’s decision to come up with a 15-per cent minimum corporate tax to make the global financial architecture “more just and fair”. He said, “The 15 per cent minimum corporate tax rate will prove to be an important step in making the global financial architecture more ‘fair’. I myself suggested this in the G-20 meeting in 2014. I would like to thank the G-20 for making concrete progress in this direction.”
