Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday described India's COVID-19 vaccination drive as a journey from "anxiety to assurance" that has made the country emerge stronger, and credited its success to people's trust in the vaccines despite "various efforts to create mistrust and panic".
Outlining the enormity of the challenge, from producing the vaccine in plants of Pune and Hyderabad to ensuring last mile delivery across the country with seamless logistics, Modi said the drive has been an unprecedented effort in the history of independent India.
"There are some among us who only trust foreign brands, even for simply everyday necessities. However, when it came to something as crucial as the COVID-19 vaccine, the people of India unanimously trusted 'Made in India' vaccines. This is a significant paradigm shift," he said.
India's vaccine drive, Modi added, is an example of what the country can achieve if the citizens and the government come together with a common goal in the spirit of "Jan Bhagidari" (people's participation).
Noting that only a handful of countries have developed their own vaccines so far, he said more than 180 countries are dependent on an extremely limited pool of producers and dozens of nations are still waiting for the supply of vaccines while India has crossed 100 crore doses.
"Imagine the situation if India did not have its own vaccine," he said.
He expressed hope that the success of the vaccination drive will further spur India's youth, innovators and all levels of government to set new benchmarks of public service delivery which will be a model not only for our country, but also for the world.
Not only PM Modi but people across India are validing the 'Made in India' initiative.
Here's what people are saying. Have a look.
With inputs from PTI.
