PM Modi meets 7 Indian COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers

New Delhi, Oct 23: Days after India achieved the landmark of administering 100 crore doses of the jabs, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday interacted with Indian vaccine manufacturers of Covid-19.

During the meeting, Modi hailed the efforts of vaccine manufacturers, which has helped India to surpass the 100-crore Covid-19 vaccination mark, and played a major role in the success.

"Prime Minister exhorted that the country needs to institutionalise the best practises learnt during the last one and a half years, and said that this is an opportunity to modify our practises, in tune with the global standards. He said that the entire world is looking up to India, in the backdrop of the success of the vaccination drive. He also said that the vaccine manufacturers should continuously work together to be ready to face future challenges," the press release from the Prime Minister's Office said about the interaction.

The vaccine manufacturers praised the governance and the dynamic leadership of Narendra Modi for giving continuous guidance for developing the vaccines and appreciated the regulatory reforms, simplifying procedures, timely approvals, and supportive nature of the government throughout this endeavour.

They also highlighted the never-before-seen collaboration between the government and the industry and noted that had the country been following old norms, there would have been a considerable delay and we would not have been able to reach the vaccination level that we have attained till now, the statement added.

Cyrus Poonawalla Adar Poonawalla from Serum Institute of India, Krishna Ella and Suchitra Ella from Bharat Biotech International Ltd, Pankaj Patel and Shervil Patel from Zydus Cadila, Mahima Datla and Narender Mantela from Biological E. Ltd, Dr Sanjay Singh and Mr Satish Ramanlal Mehta from Gennova Biopharmaceuticals Ltd, Satish Reddy and Deepak Sapra from Dr. Reddy's Lab, Dr. Rajesh Jain and Harshit Jain from Panacea Biotec Ltd, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya and MoS Health Bharati Pravin Pawar attended the meeting.