INDIA has administered more than 75 crore (750 million) Covid-19 vaccine doses since the launch of the nationwide drive in January this year, the country’s health minister Mansukh Mandaviya announced on Monday (13).
Referring to the “milestone” of 75 crore doses, Mandaviya linked it to India’s celebration of 75 years of its independence – Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav (the grand celebration of India’s independence).
“Congratulations India! With PM Narendra Modi’s ‘sabka saath, sabka vikas’ mantra, the world's biggest vaccination campaign has been relentlessly creating new dimensions. #AzadiKaAmritMahotsav, in the 75th year of independence, the country has crossed 75 crore doses of vaccination,” the health minister tweeted in Hindi.
In order to combat a third wave of the pandemic, experts have said that India needs to cover at least 60 per cent of its population with both jabs by the end of the current year. That will require a vaccination rate of 12 million doses daily.
The Modi government, however, has announced a more ambitious target of 200 crore (2,000 million) doses by December.
India’s rate of inoculation over the past seven days has been 7.7 million a day, as per the data released by the central government. That leaves a shortfall of 4.3 million doses.
India recorded its first Covid case on January 30 last year. More than 33 million people have been infected since then with more than 442,000 dying.
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A rescuer assists a resident through heavy mud following flash floods on August 27, 2026 in Trishuli, Nepal. A sudden flood swept through the Bhote Koshi River basin in northern Rasuwa on August 26, damaging settlements, roads and energy infrastructure as rescue teams searched for residents and foreign travellers reported out of contact. Hundreds were reported missing, as the death toll started to climb.Getty Images
Rescue personnel provide medical treatment to a child at an army rescue camp in Trishuli Batar, Nepal, on August 27, 2026. A sudden flood swept through the Bhote Koshi River basin in northern Rasuwa on August 26, damaging settlements, roads and energy infrastructure, as rescue teams searched for residents and foreign travellers reported out of contact. Hundreds were reported missing as the death toll began to climb. Getty Ima
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