MOSCOW, May 31. /TASS/: New Delhi expects a large batch of the Russian Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine later on Monday, Indian Ambassador to Russia Bala Venkatesh Varma told TASS.
According to the ambassador, the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) is expected to dispatch three million Sputnik V doses to India on Monday evening.
He recalled that the first batch of 150,000 vaccine doses had been supplied to India on May 1. It was followed by a batch of 60,000 doses on May 16.
India’s Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, a pharmaceutical company, applied for a permit to use Sputnik V in India in early February. The permit was granted in April and the company is ready to distribute the Russian vaccine. The Russian Direct Investment Fund has reached agreements with several companies to manufacture the vaccine in India.
Sputnik Light
Talks on the registration of the Russian Sputnik Light coronavirus vaccine in India continue, Indian Ambassador added.
He said India hoped the talks would soon be over and the vaccine would be finally registered.
Sputnik Light is a one-dose version of Sputnik V. It consists of only one (first) component, and so it requires only one shot instead of two.