India has approved the use of Sputnik V, a COVID-19 vaccine developed in Russia. The news came from the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF).
The country has been actively using Covaxin, the locally produced jab, and AstraZeneca’s vaccine which is being made in India as Covishield. The Russian drug will become the third vaccine approved for use by the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI). Thus, India is the 60th country to inoculate its population with Sputnik V.
The agreement with India is a big deal for Russia. Firstly, India is the most densely populated country among states that approved the use of Russia’s vaccine. From now on, the total number of people in the countries that use Sputnik V reaches 3 billion. Secondly, India, unlike Russia, has great production capacity to make drugs. This means, there is a chance to make up for the shortfall in jabs in Russia.
"India is the leading production hub for Sputnik V. RDIF has reached agreements with the leading pharmaceutical companies in the country (Gland Pharma, Hetero Biopharma, Panacea Biotec, Stelis Biopharma, and Virchow Biotech) aimed at production of more than 850 million doses per year," RDIF said.
