India will be key for developing and scaling up production of Covid-19 vaccine: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said he is certain that India will hold an important role in developing and scaling up production of novel coronavirus vaccine once it is discovered.

"Today also our companies are active in international efforts for development and production of Covid-19 vaccine," Modi said.

The prime minister was speaking at the India Global Week 2020's inaugural session Wednesday, a virtual conference organised in UK. It will also feature a performance "Atmanirbhar Bharat" by Madhu Nataraj and a special 100 birth anniversary concert in tribute to the sitar maestro Ravi Shankar by three of his most eminent students.

In the inaugural speech, Modi also said vaccines made in India are responsible for two-third of the vaccine needs of the world's children.

Earlier this week, the process of conducting clinical trials for Covaxin, the first possible vaccine candidate for Covid-19 rom India, began at the Nizams Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) here, a top official of the state-run medical facility said. "We will select healthy individuals and draw blood and send the blood samples to designated labs in New Delhi. They will give the green signal. Then the medicine people will examine and the first shot of the vaccine will be given due observation," NIMS director Dr K Manohar told PTI.

Besides, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has identified 12 clinical trial sites such as medical institutions and hospitals, including NIMS, and has asked their principal investigators to ensure that the subject enrolment is initiated no later than 7 July.

PM Modi also said, "The pandemic has once again shown that India's pharma industry is an asset not just for India but for the entire world. It has played a leading role in reducing the cost of medicines, especially for developing countries."

He also spoke on this year's performance. He said Aatmanirbhar Bharat is not about being self-contained or closed to the world; it is about being self-sustaining, self-generating:

The India Global Week 2020 is a three-day virtual conference, being held from July 9 to July 11, themed 'Be The Revival: India and a Better New World', and will have 5,000 global participants from 30 nations being addressed by 250 global speakers across 75 sessions.

The other speakers at the three-day event include Dr S Jaishankar, Union External Affairs Minister, PiyushGoyal, Union Minister of Railways, and Commerce and Industry, Lt Gen of JK, GC Murmu, Isha Foundation founder Sadhguru, spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, along with UK's Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab and Home Secretary Priti Patel, US Ambassador to India Ken Juster, among others.