Bharat Biotech, the company that manufactured indigenous vaccines in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research, has decided to cut the dependence on the American imports – after the Biden administration refused to supply raw material needed for vaccine production – and is producing the essentials in India, in collaboration of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research.
“This is the first instance where a novel adjuvant has been commercialised in India, eliminating dependency on imports. Also, the technology transfer process is well underway and IIL has the capabilities and expertise to manufacture inactivated viral vaccines at commercial scale and under biosafety containment,” said Bharat Biotech in a statement.
This is a tight slap on the face of the Biden administration and his big pharmaceutical companies which were trying to halt the progress of the vaccine in India to increase their sales.
Spine always grows in the back that is against the wall.
To hell with America. Bharat Biotech has already sourced all its raw materials for COVAXIN locally, with Indian manufacturers rushing in to help; and I am sure SII will follow suit.
We stand alone; but WE stand together. https://t.co/WznbIUeyfy
— Anand Ranganathan (@ARanganathan72) April 24, 2021
The pandemic induced disturbance in the supply chain and a stab in the back by the Biden administration would only nudge India to emerge stronger and Aatmanirbhar. The companies in the country have started the production of materials for which India was dependent on countries like China and the United States. “India is not self-reliant in some of these vaccine raw materials. We will work with CSIR-IICT to develop these products, new drugs, and even new platforms,” Krishna Ella, the Head of Bharat Biotech said.
The pandemic has nudged the Indian government and the people of the country to work towards a self-sufficient Bharat, which will not only survive in the highly volatile post-Covid world but lead it. Companies like Bharat Biotech emerged as a global alternative to American vaccines which cost many times more, and are less effective.
Aatmanirbhar Bharat is causing major headaches for countries like the United States, which, for decades, saw India as merely a consumer for their goods, not a competitor to their corporations. A few weeks ago, the Biden administration listed India’s ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ campaign as one of the significant trade barriers American businesses face around the world. Last month, the US Trade Representative (USTR)’s office had cited the “Make in India” programme as an impediment for the import of its products into India.
“US exporters continue to encounter significant tariff and non-tariff barriers that impede imports of US products into India. While the Indian Government has pursued ongoing economic reform efforts, it also continues to promote programs such as ‘Make in India’ that favour domestic production over importation,” the office of USTR said in its National Trade Estimate Report for 2021.
In the report, the Biden administration made it clear that it would push India to remove such campaigns and allow seamless American usage of Indian markets. Of course, while that would be beneficial to the United States, it would never allow India to become self-sufficient and self-reliant, while also bolstering the country’s own industries.
The Biden administration is trying to halt the progress of India through disruptive methods such as a halt in the supply of raw material, by every such step in making India only stronger and strengthening its resolve to become truly Aatmanirbhar.