World Bank congratulates India on Covid vaccination campaign

New Delhi: World Bank president David Malpass on Saturday congratulated India on its successful vaccination campaign against the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) as he met Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Washington. “President Malpass congratulated Minister Sitharaman on India’s COVID-19 vaccination campaign and thanked Minister Sitharaman for India’s international role in vaccine production and distribution,” the World Bank said in a statement.

Last month, Union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya announced that India will resume the supply of Covid-19 vaccines abroad after suspending it for some time. India, the world's largest producer of vaccines overall, suspended exports of Covid-19 vaccines in April to focus on inoculating its own population following a sudden spike in infections.

Mandaviya on Saturday said that India will cross the landmark of 1 billion Covid-19 vaccine doses next week. As many as "97.23 crore have been administered the first dose of Covid vaccine in the country" till Saturday evening, he said.

He added that the vaccines administered suggest about 70 per cent of the population getting at least one dose and about 30 per cent of the population has got two doses.

India’s daily Covid-19 infections are on the decline and 15,981 new cases were reported on Saturday—4 per cent of the peak of the highest daily average reported on May 9 this year.

Malpass reaffirmed the World Bank’s strong commitment to India across all group entities, including the International Finance Corporation and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency.

“President Malpass and Minister Sitharaman also discussed India’s efforts on climate change action, emphasizing the need for scaling up climate finance for impactful projects in line with Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and development goals,” the World Bank said in the statement.

The statement said Malpass also expressed his appreciation for India’s historical support for the International Development Association (IDA) and reiterated to Sitharaman the need for a robust IDA20 replenishment. 

“Malpass also complimented India’s efforts toward financial reform and offered the World Bank to host round table discussions and provide operational support,” the statement added.