Indian Ambassador to Russia, Bala Venkatesh Varma on Thursday said that the first batch of Russia’s Covid-19 vaccine Sputnik V will be delivered to India in April.

“What we heard from companies is that by (the end of) this month, the first shipment will take place and the product will be (launched) there in May and slowly increase,” Bala Venkatesh told reporters, as quoted by Russian news agency Sputnik. Venkatesh said that the volume of vaccine production in India will be gradually increasing and may exceed 50 million doses per month.

On Wednesday, Russian Deputy Envoy to India Roman Babushkin had said that Sputnik vaccine emergency use approval by India will open up a new dimension in the special partnership. “As far as Sputnik vaccine approval is concerned, this is a very significant step because it will open up a new dimension in our special privileged strategic partnership. It would definitely support efforts of vaccination in India,” Babushkin had said.

Russia’s Sputnik V got approval from the Subject expert committee (SEC) for Emergency Use Authorisation (EUA), making it the third Covid-19 vaccine to get clearance in India. India has become the 60th country to authorize the use of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine against coronavirus. The vaccine is now approved in countries with a total population of 3 billion, or 40 per cent of the world’s population.