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Serum, Bharat Biotech to get suppliers' credit for 300 mn Covid-19 doses Govt okays Rs 4,500 cr upfront payment for 300 mn doses
Vaccine manufacturers Serum Institute of India (SII) and Bharat Biotech will together get Rs 4,500 crore from the Centre as suppliers’ credit, sources in the know said. This will be an upfront payment for the vaccine doses that these two companies will supply to the government. At Rs 150 per dose, excluding taxes, this roughly works out to be 300 million doses. Of the total amount, SII will get Rs 3,000 crore, while Bharat Biotech will get around Rs 1,500 crore, multiple sources confirmed. Both SII and Bharat Biotech refused to comment. The
Department of Expenditure has agreed to relax the General Financial Rules and permit the Ministry of Health to make an advance payment to the two vaccine manufacturers, without any bank guarantee. “So, basically, they get money to supply vaccines in the future and they get it as an advance, but they don’t have to furnish bank guarantees for that advance,” said a government official. In the first place, the government doesn’t pay in advance for the supply, but even if it does in certain cases, it insists on bank guarantees in accordance with the General Financial Rules. “This is a relaxation that has been given to the health ministry. The ministry will make payment, and not the finance ministry,” said the official. The relaxation, he added, would help companies get immediate cash flow support without any cost to them....