No matter how good the cover is, no matter how modern the armour is, even if armour gives a complete guarantee of protection, weapons are not given up while the battle is on. There is no reason to get careless. Celebrate festivals with utmost precautions, advised Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 22, in his address to the nation on achieving the milestone of 100 crore vaccinations .
Stating that people needed to be constantly careful, Mr. Modi said the vaccination coverage came with the challenge of needing to scale up the production.
“After that comes distribution to different States and timely delivery of vaccines to far-flung areas. But, with scientific methods and new innovations, the country has found solutions to these challenges. Resources were increased with extraordinary speed,” he said.
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Mr. Modi added that the CoWIN platform, made in India, not only gave convenience to the common people but also made the work of medical staff easier.
The Prime Minister lauded the difficult but remarkable feat of administering 100 crore vaccine doses and attributed this achievement to the dedication of 130 crore countrymen.
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He said it was the success of India and every countryman.
“Hundred crore vaccinations are not just a figure, but a reflection of the strength of the country, it is the creation of a new chapter of history. This is a picture of a new India that sets difficult goals and knows how to achieve them,” he said.
PM Modi congratulates Indians on reaching vaccine milestone
The Prime Minister noted that today many people were comparing India’s vaccination programme with other countries of the world and said that the speed with which India crossed the 100 crore mark — that is, 1 billion — was also being appreciated.
However, he pointed out, in this analysis the point of beginning for India was often missed.
“Developed countries had decades of expertise in researching and developing vaccines. India mostly depended on vaccines made by these countries. For this reason, when the biggest pandemic of the century struck, various questions were raised about India’s ability to fight the global pandemic. Questions like, from where will India get the money to buy so many vaccines from other countries? When will India get the vaccine? Will the people of India get the vaccine or not? Will India be able to vaccinate enough people to stop the pandemic from spreading? These questions were answered by achieving this feat of administering 100 crore vaccinations,” said the PM.
He stressed that India had not only administered 100 crore vaccine doses to its citizens but had also done it free of cost. He said the acceptance that India enjoyed in the world as a pharma hub would be further strengthened.
Mr. Modi said questions were raised that most people in India would not go to the vaccination centre to get vaccinated. Vaccine hesitancy remained a major challenge even today in many major developed countries of the world.
“But the people of India have answered it by taking 100 crore vaccine doses,” said the PM, adding a campaign was ‘everybody’s effort’ and if everyone’s efforts were synergised, the results were amazing. He said that the Government made public participation the first line of defence in the country’s fight against the pandemic.
He said experts and many agencies from home and abroad were very positive about India’s economy.
Today, not only are record investments coming to Indian companies but new employment opportunities were also being created for the youth. With record investment in start-ups, unicorns were being made. New energy was also visible in the housing sector.
He said many reforms and initiatives taken in the last few months would play a big role in making India’s economy grow faster.
“During the pandemic, the agriculture sector kept our economy strong. Today, government procurement of food grains is happening at a record level. The money is going directly into the bank accounts of the farmers,” said the PM.
Mr. Modi also highlighted that people should encourage “ Made in India” products , which were made by the hard work of an Indian. He said that this would be possible only with the efforts of everyone.
“Just like Swachh Bharat Abhiyan is a mass movement, in the same way, buying things made in India, buying things made by Indians, being ‘vocal for local’ has to be put into practice,” noted the PM.