A vaccine production unit of Bharat Biotech International Ltd (BBIL) that produces covaxin will become operational in Odisha by June 2022.
Required statutory clearances and permissions have been granted for setting up the unit and production of vaccines including covaxin is expected to begin by June next year, said Odisha government officials.
This news comes at a time when the state is struggling hard to arrange Covid-19 vaccines for its people. The Bharat Biotech unit is coming up at Andharua, on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar. It will produce ten types of vaccines including malaria, Covid vaccine, severe rotavirus diarrhea, Japanese encephalitis, rabies, pandemic influenza and drug resistant staphylococcus aureus.
The BILL will act as the anchor vaccine unit and encourage other startups in this field.
“The government has made provisions for extending different incentives to biotech incubation and start-ups in the shape of the land allotment, exemption of stamp duty, land conversion, training subsidy, capital investment subsidy, interest subsidy etc. under Odisha Biotechnology Policy of 2018.
“The extension of subsidies needs to be managedprofessionally for optimising the outcomes,” secretary, science and technology Manoj Mishra said, adding that state government has also decided to set up a professional directorate of bio-technology for having a focused and fast approach towards incubation and setting up new industries in the vaccine sector.
Even chief secretary Suresh Chandra Mohapatra reviewed the progress of the work on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the Odisha government has urged the Centre to exempt GST towards purchase of Covid vaccine and provide financial assistance to the state from the cess and surcharges collected by the Centre.
“The states have been asked to purchase vaccines out of their own resources to cover the 18-45 years age group of the population. These purchases attract the Goods and Service Taxes (GST) making the vaccines costly for the states. Hence GST needs to be exempted completely. It will reduce the cost for the states and facilitate our drive towards universal vaccination,” Naveen said in a letter to finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday evening.
Naveen also cited the need to share the cess collected from the petrol, diesel and liquor and other products with the state government at this critical juncture.
“This will strengthen our fight against the pandemic including the provision of vaccinations, free treatment, undertaking preventive measures and so on,” the chief minister said.
While it’s fighting to inoculate all its people, the state on Friday recorded its highest ever spike in daily corona cases with 12,238 new infections. It also reported the death of another 19 persons. The total number of Covid cases in the state has touched 5,12,400.
The number of Covid death cases has gone upto 2140 with another 19 people succumbing to the virus in the last 24 hours.
In order to break the chain of corona virus the state has intensified its vaccination programme. But it all depends on the availability of the vaccines.
“We are doing well in the field of administration of COVID vaccines to the people. Our wastage of doses has a negative wastage of -2.2 per cent. We have vaccinated more persons against the corona virus compared to the number of doses allocated by the Centre. We have used the doses prudently and efficiently. We have developed a good supply cold chain,” additional chief secretary in charge of health and family welfare
P.K. Mohapatra told The Telegraph.
