INDIAN prime minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday (13) said the government's decision to administer free booster doses of Covid-19 vaccines to all citizens aged above 18 will further India's vaccination coverage and create a healthier country.
As part of 'Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav' celebrations, free booster doses of Covid-19 vaccines will be administered to all citizens above the age of 18 at government vaccination centres from July 15 for the next 75 days, central minister Anurag Thakur said after the Modi Cabinet gave its nod to the drive earlier in the day.
In a tweet, PM Modi said, "Vaccination is an effective means to fight COVID-19. Today's Cabinet decision will further India's vaccination coverage and create a healthier nation."
So far, less than one per cent of the target population of 77.10 crore in the 18-59 age group has been administered the booster dose, according to an official source.
India began administering precaution doses of COVID-19 vaccines to all aged above 18 on April 10.
A 1996 photo of rapper Tupac Shakur (L) and Marion "Suge" Knight is shown on screens during closing arguments in the Duane Davis murder trial, related to the 1996 killing of rapper Tupac Shakur, at Clark County District Court at the Regional Justice Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, on August 31, 2026. Getty Images
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
Family members of missing flood victims react at the emergency ward of the Maharajgunj Medical Campus, part of the Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital, on August 28, 2026 in Kathmandu, Nepal. Authorities said the flash floods were triggered after a mass of ice, mud and rock collapsed into a Himalayan river near the Nepal-China border, leaving hundreds dead or missing and causing widespread damage in affected districts. Authorities continued the gruelling search for victims, many buried under metres of mud, as both China and Nepal issued fresh flooding alerts.Getty Images