Sputnik V's production in India to begin in August, says envoy Venkatesh Varma

In a development that will tremendously boostIndia'svaccination campaign,SputnikV's production will start in the country in August, India's envoy to Russia, DBVenkateshVarma has announced.

SputnikV, along with Covishieldand COVAXIN are the only threeCovidvaccines allowed for use in India.Speaking to a group of reporters during his Saint Petersburgvisit, EnvoyVenkateshVarma said," production in India is expected to start in August... 850 million doses of theSputnikVvaccine will be produced in India by about September-October."

India will getSputnikVvaccines from Russia in threeways:direct exports, fill and finish mode which means thevaccines will be filled in bottles in India, and finally, the Russian side will transfer technology to Indian companies for full production in India.Russian sovereign wealth fund Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), which has funded thevaccine has signed a pact with fiveIndian companies for production in India.

Add WION as a Preferred Source

"Almost 65 to 70 per centofSputnikVvaccine produced anywhere in the world will be from India," EnvoyVarma said,explaining, that these " will be finally for India and once Indian demand is met, Russia will also export it to other parts." India has already got 210,000 (150,000 +60,000) doses ofSputnikVvaccine earlier this month and by the end of May, it will get 3 million doses in form of bulk for fill and finish mode. By June, this number will increase to 5 million.

The Russian side has already announced a single-dose vaccine called "Sputniklite" and while "regulatory approval is still not completed" in India but once it is given, then the Covidvaccine will be "one more area of cooperation between India and Russia", the envoy remarked.

Amid the cCvid pandemic, both India and Russia have cooperated with each other with New Delhi sending hydroxychloroquine to the country last year, while this year Moscow sent twoplanes full of aid amid the second deadly wave of the Covid pandemic in India.Detailing the situation on account of the Covid pandemic, the envoy said, "situationis coming under control ".

More Russian aid is expected to reach India in the next few days. At the height of the 2nd wave of the covid pandemic in early May, India was reporting more than 400,000 covid cases with hospitals overburdenedwith cases.

It's imperative to note here that Russia has requested India to give samples of the B.1.617 Covidvirusvariant first found in the country, with New Delhi working on it.On the black fungus crisis, he said, India is in "touch with the Russian authorities if they can supply some medicines" related to the treatment of the illness.

Asked about the S400 Missile system, the envoy said that it will "be delivered in the last quarter of this year".India had signed the contract for the deal during Russian PresidentVladimir Putin'svisit on October 5, 2018.Currently, Indian military specialists are being trained in Russia to operate the missile defence system.Dismissing delays in contracts in military space, envoyVarma says "what contracts have already been concluded are proceeding according to schedule, there is no delay in any of the contracts"

AmbassadorVenkatesh was on avisit to the historic Institute of Oriental Manuscripts in the city that has collections of manuscripts from across Asia, including those related to India and Indo-Tibetology. PM Modi hadvisited theInstitute in 2017 during hisvisit toSaint Petersburg and the current plan is to increase cooperation with the institute, withmanuscripts being digitised. Saint Petersburg has a long tradition of Indology including the study of Sanskrit, Indian languages.