Independence Day 2020: India celebrates the 74th Independence Day today. Prime Minister Narendra Modi unfurled the national flag for the 7th time for Delhi's Red Fort. In his 87-minute speech, the Prime Minister addressed every important issue and crisis the country is facing especially since the outbreak of coronavirus.


In his speech, the Prime Minister announced that there are three India made a vaccine that are ready for testing.

“Today three vaccines are in testing stages in India. As soon as the scientists give a green signal, the country will begin their large scale production. the blue for mass production and distribution is ready and the vaccine will be available to the citizens as early as possible,” said the Prime Minister during his address from Red Fort.

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He also talked about the support 'Vocal for Local' and how the nation has been successful in creating equipment to fight the coronavirus.

"The mindset of free India should be 'vocal for local'. We should appreciate our local products, if we don't do this then our products will not get the opportunity to do better and will not get encouraged," said Modi.

He added, 'A few months back we used to import N-95 masks, PPE kits, and ventilators. Today India is not only meeting its own requirements but it has also stepped forward to help other countries."

The human trial of India's first indigenously developed coronavirus vaccine Covaxin has already started and is being undertaken in different parts of the country.  The results of the first phase of safety trials of India’s first domestic vaccine candidate are being analyzed, and an expert panel will approve the next round once the results are in.
The Data Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB) of the vaccine will give nod to embark on the second phase of the human trial, which will be to test the vaccine’s safety and immunogenicity, after analysis of results of 375 people, who were administered the vaccine in the first phase in New Delhi.

The ICMR has selected 12 institutes for the trial. They are AIIMS-Delhi, Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences, Hyderabad; PGMIS Rohtak; SRM Medical College Hospital and Research Centre, Chennai; AIIMS-Patna, Redkar Hospital, Goa; Gillurkar Multi-specialty Hospital and Research Centre, Nagpur; Sum Hospital, Bhubaneswar; Jeevan Rekha Hospital, Belagavi (Karnataka); King George Hospital, Visakhapatnam; Prakhar Hospital, Kanpur; and Rana Hospital, Gorakhpur. The 12 institutes have been asked by the ICMR to fast track clinical trials of the vaccine as it is being considered as one of the top priority projects which are being monitored at the topmost level of the government.