<span style="color: #222222;">Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has asked the Public Sector Undertakings in Odisha to contribute to the ongoing vaccination drive against COVID-19. In a virtual meeting held with the senior management of all the PSUs across sectoral ministries in Odisha today, the Union Minister said, the PSUs should take the lead in procuring vaccines from the open market to inoculate their own human capital and also the people over 18 years of age in the civil society. </span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">This, he said, will further speed up the vaccination drive in the state. Captains of healthcare and financial institutions and senior officers of the state government also participated in the meeting.</span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">AIR Correspondent reports, the meeting focused on synergizing efforts to work with the 'whole of government approach' to ramp up the  healthcare infrastructure in Odisha, including Oxygen support systems across the state. In yet another development, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik today has requested the Centre to exempt covid vaccines from GST. </span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">In a letter to the Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman today, Mr Pattnaik said that the GST exemption will reduce the cost of the vaccines for the states, thereby facilitating the drive towards universal vaccination against COVID-19. </span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">Meanwhile, the cumulative COVID-19 positive tally of the state has crossed the 5 lakh mark today with 10,000 plus people reported positive during the last 24 hours.</span><br />''  <br />