Putting neighbours first

Nepal is among the first few countries to receive Indian-manufactured Covid-19 vaccines within days of India’s domestic rollout.

‘India will use its vaccine production and distribution capacity to help the whole of humanity in fighting the Covid-19 crisis’. These were the words of Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he addressed the 20th Summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Council of Heads of State in November 2020. It was a pledge that was perceived as ambitious and utopian, given the unprecedented nature of adversity and the multitude of concerns, both regional and global, that had to be factored in, without compromising on the efficacy of the end-product.