India at the Forefront of COVID-19 Fight; 'Really Stands Out' in Terms of Vaccine Policy: IMF's Gita Gopinath

The chief economist of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Gita Gopinath said that India has been at the forefront in fighting the coronavirus pandemic and ‘really stands out’ in terms of its vaccine policy. She hailed the country for playing a very important role in helping the world during the crisis by manufacturing and shipping critical doses of the COVID-19 vaccines to several nations.

Gita made the statement on Monday in an interactive session during the Inaugural Dr Hansa Mehta Lecture organized on the occasion of International Women’s Day.

She said, “I also want to mention that India really stands out in terms of its vaccine policy. If you look at where exactly is one manufacturing hub for vaccines in the world – that will be India”.

Gita lauded Pune-based Serum Institute of India and said that it produces the most number of vaccines in the world in a regular year. She also mentioned that it has been manufacturing the COVID-19 vaccine doses that are delivered to COVAX and then distributed to countries around the world.

She said that “India has been at the forefront in fighting this pandemic. The country has been playing a very important role in helping the world in the global health crisis through its vaccine policies”. Gita also noted that India has been providing vaccines through grants to several of its neighbouring countries.

Pointing out that India makes up about seven percent of world GDP based on purchasing power parity terms, Gita said, “So when you are that large, what happens in India has implications for many other countries in the world, especially countries in the region”.

Despite being hit very hard by this pandemic, India, which typically grows at over six percent, recorded a growth of negative eight percent in 2020, said Gita.

“So it was very hard hit but you do see the recovery coming back as the country has reopened, activies returning,” she added.

The IMF has projected 11.5 percent growth rate for India in 2021, making the country the only major economy of the world to register a double-digit growth this year amidst the pandemic.

Gita said, “Now because of its size, when you have India growing, it increases demand for goods from other parts of the world and that’s a big positive”.