NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India is able to mass-produce COVID-19 vaccines when scientists give the go-ahead, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Saturday in his Independence Day speech, and also launched a national mission to deploy fitness identities for each and every citizen.
During the annual celebrations held at the Red Fort in the 17th century and reduced by the pandemic, Modi recognized that fitness and economic self-sufficiency were his government’s most sensitive priorities.
“Not one, not two, no less than 3 coronavirus vaccines are being tested in India,” he said from the walls of the red sandstone palace in Delhi’s old quarters, dressed in an orange and white turban flowing and covering his mouth and nose with a shawl of the same colors every time someone approached the ceremony.
“In parallel with mass production, the roadmap for the distribution of the vaccine to each and every Indian in the shortest time imaginable is also ready,” Modi said.
At the event, the infantrymen who ceremonially hosted Modi had been quarantined a few days before the event. Only about 4,000 visitors were allowed at a distance of six feet, while medical booths with ambulances were installed for any player with COVID-19 symptoms at the entrance.
Launching a national virtual fitness project for the country of 1.3 billion people, Modi said in his seventh Independence Day speech that records of fitness tests, illnesses, drugs and other major points will be kept under a fitness id card.
“Whether it’s making a doctor’s appointment, depositing cash or for documents in the hospital, the project will help solve all those problems,” he said.
Not to mention China, with which ties reached a low point after the worst border confrontation in decades that killed 20 Indian infantrymen in June, Modi said the country’s supreme sovereignty.
“Whoever is in the sovereignty of the country, the country’s army responded in the same language,” he said.
Modi also said it is vital to strengthen India’s economic strength to strengthen its foreign influence, emphasizing a desire to reduce imports and increase exports of value-added products.
The prime minister reiterated his target with India’s infrastructure by spending more than 110 trillion rupees ($1.47 trillion) on about 7,000 projects, and said it would help bring economic expansion to life by creating jobs and boosting small businesses.
Reporting through Abhirup Roy, Aftab Ahmed and Krishna N. Das; Edited by William Mallard and Shri Navaratnam
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