INDIA’S VACCINE DIPLOMACY

India is the world’s largest producer of vaccines which has become a tool for its diplomacy in the region at a time when its relationships with neighbors have not been their best. Recently, India has officially begun its vaccine diplomacy by supplying Made In India covid-19 vaccines to its neighboring countries. Vaccine diplomacy refers to a branch of global health diplomacy in which a nation uses the development or delivery of vaccines to strengthen ties with other nations. India had earlier supplied Hydroxychloroquine, Remdesivir, and Paracetamol tablets as well as diagnostic kits, ventilators, masks, gloves, and other medical supplies to a large number of countries to help them deal with a pandemic. The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called India’s vaccine manufacturing capacity the “best asset in the world.”

SIGNIFICANCE
India is one of the world’s biggest drug markets and an increasing number of countries approached it for procuring the vaccine Covaxin by Bharat Biotech developed in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and National Institute Of Virology and vaccine Covishield made by the University of Oxford with AstraZeneca, manufactured by the Pune based Serum Institute of India. The sale of covid-19 vaccines will be economically beneficial. For example, countries such as Myanmar and Bangladesh have started negotiating commercial agreements with manufacturers for more quantities. Vaccine diplomacy is a natural extension of India’s central role in the global pharmaceutical industry by financing shipments from India’s assistance programs for cash-strapped neighboring countries desperately needing such assistance. India shall earn the long-term goodwill of its immediate neighbor and across Indian Ocean countries. Quite importantly the move also comes at a time when no other country has delivered free vaccines to other countries. Even the united states, where the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are being made, is yet to send vaccines to developing nations hardly hit by the covid-19 crisis. India’s vaccine diplomacy put it in direct competition with China which has made no secret that vaccine distribution is wrapped up in its broader geopolitical ambitions. In fact, it has even explicitly included vaccine distribution in its broader Health Silk Road initiative, which aims to bolster China’s international soft power.      
STAGES OF VACCINE DIPLOMACY
Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, and the Maldives have received India’s Covid-19 vaccines under grant assistance in sync with its “Neighborhood First” policy. India is one of the world’s biggest drugmakers and an increasing number of countries have already approached it for procuring the coronavirus vaccines. India is now driving the world’s biggest vaccination program to vaccinate its 1.3 billion citizens. By July 2021, India plans to immunize at least 300 million people which is almost the population of the US. India has trained 3,70,000 team members and has readied 29,000 cold storage. India gifted 49 lakh doses of Covid-19 vaccines to Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, the Maldives, and other friendly nations as part of its “Vaccine Maitri” drive. “Vaccine Maitri” could be a game changer for India’s diplomacy strategy. In addition to the vaccine grant assistance to its neighbors, India has also set in motion a commercial supply of vaccines to several countries, including Saudi Arabia, S.Africa, Brazil, and Morocco.

VACCINE NATIONALISM
India has been supplying vaccines to other countries even as its first phase of vaccination covers the health care workers. At the same time, the selfishness of the advanced countries has been on full display by amassing the approved vaccines. When a country manages to secure doses of vaccines for its own citizens or residents and prioritizes its own domestic markets before they are made available in other countries is known as vaccine nationalism. This is done through pre-purchase agreements between a government and a vaccine manufacturer. The advance purchase contracts made by some advanced countries for potential vaccines would vaccinate their population by many times in the European Union, two times in the Union States, the United Kingdom four times, and Canada six times. 
IMPACT ON ECONOMY
India can become the pharmacy of the world. India is now producing the largest number of vaccines perhaps in the world and has also begun its vaccine diplomacy. If India becomes the manufacturing hub of corona vaccines across the world, it shall give a boost to the GDP of the country. “India’s vaccine diplomacy is an important way for New Delhi to show regional and global leadership” Daniel Markey, the academic director of the global policy program and senior research professor in international relations at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies told Forbes India.
CONCLUSION
What has been particularly appreciated is the speed and selflessness with which India rolled out millions of doses as aid despite the massive requirements of its own vaccination drive. This will go a long way to enhance the credibility and trustworthiness of India in the world. While the world is witnessing the aggressive and threatening demeanor of China, the humane and caring attitude of India is evident in stark contrast. In the rapidly evolving geopolitical landscape in Asia and the world, the healing and supportive actions by India through the supply of Covishield and Covaxin vaccines will go a long way to promote peace, security, cooperation, and prosperity in the region and the world. India’s “Vaccine Diplomacy” or “vaccine Maitri”(vaccine friendship) has further strengthened its image as the first response in all emergency situations. This is all the more commendable when there are only five countries in the world that have thus far been able to successfully manufacture an anti-covid-19 vaccine