India’s Comptroller General of Medicines registered the vaccine under the emergency use authorization procedure, the Press Trust of India reported.

This was based on the results of clinical trials conducted in Russia, as well as positive data from phase III clinical trials conducted in India in collaboration with Doctor Reddy laboratories, as per the source.

The vaccine was approved for use in countries with a total population of three billion people, or about 40 percent of the world’s population.

India is the 60th country to approve Sputnik V, the most populous country to register the vaccine and also the main production center for Sputnik V.

Sputnik V will be the third vaccine to be used in India against the coronavirus since the authorization for emergency use for Covaxin and Covishield was granted in January.

The general director of the Russian Fund for Direct Investment, Kirill Dmitriev, said that the approval of the vaccine is a milestone as both countries develop extensive cooperation in the clinical trials of Sputnik V in India and its local production.

India has administered more than 108.5 million doses of Covid-19 to date, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

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