Saturday, 23 October 2021 | PNS | New Delhi
Modi says 100-cr milestone is a befitting reply to those doubting India’s capabilities
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday lauded the 100-crore vaccination “milestone” achieved by India and said it is “the answer to every question and doubts raised about India’s ability over it”.
Addressing the nation on the occasion, Modi said, “100-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.”
The Prime Minister’s praise for the country reaching a long way in its fight against the pandemic has come against the Congress-led Opposition’s criticism of the Modi Government’s handling of coronavirus and the large number of deaths taking place due to the shortage of life-saving Oxygen across the country.
He said the speed with which India crossed the 100-crore mark is also being appreciated across the world. However, he pointed out, in this analysis the point of beginning for India is often missed. He said developed countries had decades of expertise in researching and developing vaccines. India mostly depended on vaccines made by these countries.
He said 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 India will get the money to buy so many vaccines from other countries, when India will get the vaccine, whether the people of India will get the vaccine or not, and whether India will be able to vaccinate enough people to stop the pandemic from spreading were all answered by achieving this feat of administering 100 crore vaccinations.”
He stressed that India has not only administered 100 crore vaccine doses to its citizens “but has also done that free of cost.” He said the acceptance that India enjoys in the world as a pharma hub will be further strengthened.
The Prime Minister said at the beginning of the corona pandemic, people were anxious that it would be very difficult to fight this pandemic in a democracy like India.
He said that the country has only one mantra that if the disease did not discriminate, then there cannot be any discrimination in the vaccination.
Modi said that was the reason why “it was ensured that the VIP culture of entitlement does not dominate the vaccination campaign.”
The Prime Minister said questions were raised that most of the people in India would not go to the vaccination centre to get vaccinated.
“Vaccine hesitancy remains 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”, Modi said.
He said a campaign is “everybody’s effort” and if everyone’s efforts are synergised, the results are amazing. The Government made public participation the first line of defence in the country’s fight against the pandemic.
The Prime Minister said India’s “entire vaccination programme is born in the womb of science, has grown on scientific grounds and has reached all four directions through scientific methods.”
The PM said resources were increased with extraordinary speed and the CoWIN platform not only gave convenience to the common people but also made the work of our medical staff easier.
As against the Opposition parties’ criticism of the Government for its “mishandling” of the economy during the onslaught of the Covid-19, the Prime Minister said experts and many agencies from home and abroad are very positive about India’s economy.
“Today not only are record investments coming in Indian companies but new employment opportunities are also being created for the youth. With record investment in start-ups, unicorns are being made. New energy is also
visible in the housing sector”, he said.
Modi said many reforms and initiatives taken in the last few months will play a big role in making India’s economy grow faster.
In the backdrop of about 10-month-old farmers’ agitation and demand for scrapping three farm laws intending to open up the agriculture sector to private traders, Modi said 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,” he said.
Modi stuck a note of caution against Covid-19 despite 100 crore vaccination saying “we need to be constantly careful 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.”
