FAST READ
- India was highlighted as the world's largest vaccine producer and supplier by volume.
- India-CEPI partnership entered a new phase focused on next-generation vaccines and global health security.
- India's immunisation system reaches about 2.9 crore pregnant women and 2.54 crore newborns annually.
WHY IN NEWS
- A 13 September 2026 science-policy discussion highlighted India's vaccine-manufacturing scale and renewed partnership with CEPI.
- The issue links biomedical R&D, epidemic preparedness, manufacturing capacity and global health security.
TOP DATA & FACTS
- Policy event date: 13 September 2026.
- India described as world's largest vaccine producer/supplier by volume.
- Full immunisation coverage: 98.4% as of January 2026.
- Full immunisation coverage in 2015: 62%.
- Increase from 2015 to Jan 2026: 36.4 percentage points.
- Zero-dose children share: 0.11% in 2023.
- Zero-dose share: 0.06% in 2024.
- UIP launch year: 1985.
- Pregnant women reached annually: about 2.9 crore.
- Newborns reached annually: about 2.54 crore.
- Diseases covered under UIP schedule: 12.
- Cold-chain points: nearly 30,000.
- Ice-lined refrigerators/deep freezers: more than 1.06 lakh.
- Walk-in coolers/freezers: 432.
- National Vaccination Day: 16 March.
PRELIMS
- CEPI works on epidemic preparedness and vaccine development.
- Vaccine security requires R&D, manufacturing, regulation, cold chain and surveillance together.
- High production volume does not automatically guarantee innovation in every platform.
QUICK REVISION
- Policy event date: 13 September 2026.
- India described as world's largest vaccine producer/supplier by volume.
- Full immunisation coverage: 98.4% as of January 2026.
- Full immunisation coverage in 2015: 62%.
- Increase from 2015 to Jan 2026: 36.4 percentage points.
- Zero-dose children share: 0.11% in 2023.
- Zero-dose share: 0.06% in 2024.
- UIP launch year: 1985.
PROBABLE OBJECTIVE QUESTION
Consider the following statements:
- India's UIP was launched in 1985.
- India's vaccine cold chain spans nearly 30,000 points.