Union Minister Ashwani Kumar said that India has taken significant strides in vaccine development. Inaugurating the International Vaccine Symposium at Surajkund this evening, he said, more needs to be done to ensure that its benefits reach the remotest parts of the country. He said, India produces 60 per cent of the world's vaccines.

Mr. Kumar said that though Indian industry manufactures vaccines at a low price, efficient delivery mechanism needs to be put in place to ensure that the benefits reach the poor. Mr. Kumar said the United Nations procures 60-80 per cent of vaccines required for its various initiatives from India. He said, the current Indian vaccine market is estimated at around 900 million US dollars and targets 4.6 billion US dollars revenue by 2017.

It is poised to grow 23 per cent during 2011-2012. The Minister said that low pricing has been possible due to social innovation Public Private Partnership programmes and competition amongst the Indian and other developing country manufacturers.