Taking umbrage at this, Chavan said that in the Phase-1, the Centre had procured 1.65 crore doses of the vaccine at a cost of Rs 210/dose.
“As per the Feb. 1 Budget speech of Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Rs 35,000 crore has been allocated for the vaccination drive. In this amount, at the cost of Rs 210/dose, more than 1.50 billion doses can be procured,” Chavan said.
These 1.60 billion doses can help inoculate 75 crore of the Indians, covering almost the entire adult population of the country, and hence if budgetary provisions are made, then why the charges (Rs 250) are being levied, Chavan asked.
