Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman allocated ₹35,000 crores in the Union Budget 2021 for the COVID-19 immunization program. The amount designated for the vaccines will be enough to vaccinate around 50 crore people, with a cost of Rs 700 per person, Expenditure Secretary T.V. Somanathan told Moneycontrol.
“As the minister said, this is not necessarily the final figure. If required, there will be more provided. This does not necessarily mean the final figure,” said Somanthan.
Mr. Soamnthan said that the ₹35,000 crores allocation is only a part of it. The state governments will also allocate money for the same in their budgets for 2021-22. He estimated that a sum of all state allocations could exceed money allocated by the centre.