New Delhi, Aug 3: Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Tuesday said in Parliament that four more Indian pharma firms are expected to start anti-coronavirus vaccine production by October-November that will accelerate the inoculation drive.
During the Question Hour in the Rajya Sabha, Mandaviya said India has administered 47 crore doses of vaccine so far and the Centre is making efforts to inoculate the entire country at the earliest.
Even 7 to 9 per cent of the doses that remain unutilised by private hospitals are being used by the government vaccination centres, he added.
Mandaviya was speaking amid a din in the house over the Opposition's demand for a discussion on the Pegasus issue and the farm laws.
"Vaccination drive is going on smoothly... It will get more accelerated in the coming days with the ramping up of production by four more Indian companies," the minister said.
The government expects that by October-November, four more Indian pharmaceutical companies will start production of indigenous vaccines that will help meet the domestic demand, he said.
Biologicals E and Novartis vaccines will also be available in the market in the coming days, while Zydus Cadila will soon get an emergency-use nod from an expert committee, the Union Health Minister said
At present, two companies (Bharat Biotech and Serum Institute) are supplying the vaccine to the government. Sputnik vaccine is also available and production of which has begun, he added.
To a query by BJD member Amar Patnaik about the vaccine rollout plan for 12-18-year-old and the need for a third or fourth dose, Mandaviya said, "The government's target is to vaccinate the entire population at the earliest and constant efforts are being made to achieve this."
Unlike BCG (bacille Calmette-Guerin) and polio vaccines that came to India much later after its launch in other parts of the world, the vaccine against coronavirus was made available in India at the same time in the world due to the efforts of the Narendra Modi government, he said
The prime minister took steps, supported scientists and companies to ensure vaccines were available in the country at the earliest, the minister said.
"Thus vaccination drives began in India which has administered 47 crore doses so far, the maximum in the world. We are going to accelerate it further in the coming days," he said.
Responding to BJP member Susheel Kumar Modi's query on the government's plan to reduce the vaccine quota to private hospitals, the minister said it was not necessary as the unused vaccine quota of the private hospitals is taken by the government.
"In a month, we saw seven to nine per cent unused vaccines by private hospitals. So, we decided to take those unutilised doses in the government quota. Therefore, it is not necessary to reduce the quota for the private. The vaccination is happening smoothly," he said.
The Centre is buying 75 per cent of the vaccine produced to give free jabs to people, while 25 per cent is allocated for the private sector, the health minister added.
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Kolkata (PTI): At a time when the Election Commission pledges to leave no stone unturned to bring eligible voters to polling stations to exercise their franchise, not many electors are aware of their right to "refuse to vote" even after registering their identities before the presiding officer.
That right, which is separate from the provision to vote under NOTA, can be exercised under the 'Conduct of Elections Rules, 1961 Rule 49-O', which elaborates the little-known option for electors to abstain from voting even after reaching the polling booth.
While the NOTA (None Of The Above) option allows voters to express their lack of confidence in any of the candidates seeking mandate, the refusal to vote' option allows an elector to shun the poll process in its entirety.
The 49-O clause directs the presiding officer that once an elector refuses to vote inside a booth after having his credentials verified, the officer shall put "a remark to this effect against the entry in Form 17A and the signature or thumb impression of the elector shall be obtained against such a remark".
"This is not a new introduction of rights. It has existed for some time. The electors, though, have very little idea about it. Most people are unaware of this option," a senior official of the EC told PTI.
The abstention from voting would, of course, play no role in affecting poll outcome and the candidate who secures the highest number of valid votes polled, irrespective of his winning margin, would be declared elected, he clarified.
On whether the EC would raise the awareness of the electors in this regard, the official said, "There is no such plan at the moment."
Underlining the advantage of rule 49-O, he stated that the rule "provided an option to reject all candidates while simultaneously keeping a check on bogus voting".
Statistics from the EC state that in the 2019 edition of general elections, 1,389 votes were rejected due to other reasons (at polling station)' across India.
It could not be ascertained, though, whether all or a fraction of these votes were rejected for people exercising their rights under rule 49-O.
The rule states that "if an elector, subsequent to his electoral roll number duly entered in the Register of Voters' Form 17A as well as his signature/ thumb impression duly taken, decides not to vote, he shall not be forced to cast his vote".
"In the Form, in place of 'Under Rule', left without voting or 'Refused to Vote' will be inserted for those electors who after signing in Register of Voters' wish to leave without voting," it says.
In the event of the "allot" button on the EVM's 'Control Unit', which readies the ballot unit for "recording a vote", getting activated when an elector refuses to vote, the presiding officer or the third polling officer should direct the next voter to proceed to the voting compartment to record his/her vote, the poll panel official pointed out.
However, if the "allot" button has been pressed to "release voting" on the ballot unit when the elector refuses to vote, the presiding officer would then have to reboot the control unit by killing its power and disconnect the VVPAT, before enabling the machine to accept the next vote, he said.
"The power needs to be switched on after the busy' indicator goes off and the close' button becomes functional to close the poll," he explained.