Free Covid-19 vaccines, food to cost an additional Rs 80,000 cr: Report

The government may not have to tap the bond market for the funds to finance free inoculation.

India will need to spend an additional 800 billion rupees ($11 billion) to provide free vaccines and food to millions of people devastated by the deadly coronavirus wave, people with knowledge of the matter said. The government will earmark an additional 700 billion rupees for providing food to the poor and other eligible groups until November, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the numbers aren’t public. The administration will need an extra 100 billion rupees to provide free vaccinations, they said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi agreed Monday to provide free inoculations, reversing a policy where states ended up competing for supplies for certain age categories, leading to severe shortages. His administration also has been criticized for its handling of the second wave of the virus, which has killed thousands of people in India.

In an address on national television, Modi said all Indians above age 18 can be vaccinated for free starting June 21, to speed up the inoculation drive. The government may not have to tap the bond market for the funds, the people familiar said, citing the 991.2 billion-rupee dividend the government received from the central bank and expected inflows from asset sales. With the extra money, the government will end up spending a total of 1.3 trillion on providing food, the people said, and has set aside 350 billion rupees for vaccinations in the budget.

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