KOCHI: The High Court on Monday orally asked the Union government why it could not utilise the surplus dividend received from the Reserve Bank for administering free vaccination, at least to the poor. The court made the query when the petitions challenging the Centre’s strategy on accelerated vaccination and liberalised pricing, and other Covid-related cases came up for hearing.
A division bench comprising Justice K Vinod Chandran and Justice M R Anitha cited the TNIE report headlined ‘RBI hands out generous dividend amounting to 0.5% of GDP to govt’ (Saturday, May 22) to say that the Reserve Bank approved paying a higher-than-expected Rs 99,122 crore to the government as dividend.
The bench said the sum was more than half the amount projected in the budget. The government has got almost Rs 54,000 crore more than projected. “The projected dividend is Rs 45,000 crore. So you have got almost Rs 54,000 crore more. Now just arithmetic: The population of India is around 137 crore. If 137 crore is multiplied by Rs 150 or rather let us take Rs 250, the amount will come to only around Rs 34,000 crore. So what is your problem with giving it? RBI has given you Rs 54,000 crore more. The deficit would be reduced to Rs 1.75 lakh, that is true, but you have the whole financial year before you. We expect that the Covid situation will improve and so will the economy. Why don’t you do something about that?” the court asked the Centre.
The Union government submitted that it was in the realm of the Centre’s policy decision and that an expert committee appointed by the Supreme Court is supervising the vaccine procurement and distribution. The High Court replied that it was telling the policymakers that they have so much money, so why couldn’t they do it.
The state government
submitted that its department of health and family welfare is taking all efforts to ensure vaccination, but it is adversely affected because of the short supply of vaccine. Of the 1.5 crore beneficiaries targeted in the 18-44 age-group, 25,954 have been administered the first dose.
Shortage of doses hitting vaccination: State to HC
The total vaccine doses made available other than through the central government channel till Sunday is 8.84 lakh and the state will require another 1.41 crore doses to complete the first dose administration to this group and another 1.5 crore doses for the second dose.
Besides, 55,56,820 beneficiaries in the above-45 age group have been vaccinated with the first dose. As many as 12,23,550 beneficiaries have received a second dose as well and completed the schedule. Additional 1,01,52,490 doses are required to complete their second dose.
The state had placed a purchase order for one crore doses (70 lakh doses of Covishield and 30 lakh doses of Covaxin). Though the order for one crore doses was placed, it was further communicated by the central government that vaccine supply other than Central government channels will be limited for a couple of months.
Hence the state had initiated the process for inviting global tender for the purchase of Covid vaccines. The vaccination of those in the 18-44 age group also was totally dependent on supply to the states. Without increasing production capacity, this was bound to create vaccine shortage, pointed out the state.