The cumulative COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country crossed 176 crore on Tuesday, the Union Health Ministry said. Over 30 lakh vaccine doses were administered on Tuesday till 7 pm.

The daily vaccination tally is expected to increase with the compilation of the final reports for the day by late in the night. More than 1.93 crore precaution doses have been administered to healthcare and frontline workers and comorbid people aged 60 and above, the ministry said.

Earlier it came to light that India's first homegrown mRNA COVID-19 vaccine was under final clinical trial stages, the government said on Thursday. Responding to a question at the weekly press conference, NITI Aayog Member (Health) Dr V K Paul said a candidate vaccine by Pune-based Gennova Biopharmaceuticals, which is entirely an Indian development, is in final clinical trial stages.

"We hope that it will pass that threshold that it could be used under emergency use and regular use some day," he said. The official noted that the vaccine can be stored in normal cold chain conditions and transported, which is a big thing.

ICMR Director General Balram Bhargava said this is another vaccine which really establishes that India is heading towards becoming a vaccine super-power and the fact that these vaccines are going to be available for other diseases.

And because such a large proportion has been vaccinated, we are not seeing such a disastrous third surge in terms of hospitalisation and mortality, he said.