Will return to India in few days: Adar Poonawalla

May 02, 2021 08:31

Serum Institute of India CEO Adar Poonawalla has said he will return to India from London in a few days. Poonawalla made the announcement soon after he spoke out about the pressures he was under over the production of COVID-19 vaccines to meet the ever-increasing demand in India as the country battles through a devastating second wave of the coronavirus pandemic.

"Had an excellent meeting with all our partners & stakeholders in the U.K. Meanwhile, pleased to state that COVISHIELD's production is in full swing in Pune. I look forward to reviewing operations upon my return in a few days," Poonawalla said in a midnight tweet.

In his first comments since he was provided with 'Y' category security by the Indian government earlier this week, Poonawalla had told 'The Times' in an interview about receiving aggressive calls from some of the most powerful people in India, demanding supplies of Covishield -- the Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine that the Serum Institute is producing in India.

That pressure was largely behind his decision to fly into London to be with his wife and children, the 40-year-old entrepreneur had said in the interview on Saturday.

"I'm staying here (London) for an extended time because I don't want to go back to that situation. Everything falls on my shoulders but I can't do it alone...I don't want to be in a situation where you are just trying to do your job, and just because you can't supply the needs of X, Y or Z you really don't want to guess what they are going to do," Poonawalla had told the newspaper.

According to Indian government officials, the protection to Poonawalla has been given in view of "potential threats" to him. Armed commandos of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) will be with him every time he travels to any part of the country, they said and added that the 'Y' security cover will entail a posse of about 4-5 armed commandos. "The level of expectation and aggression is really unprecedented. It's overwhelming. Everyone feels they should get the vaccine. They can't understand why anyone else should get it before them," Poonawalla had said.

« Back to LIVE

TOP STORIES

'Aaj batting tera Jassi bhai karega'

Jasprit Bumrah was seen practicing some shots in the nets ahead of MI's clash against DC.

What's Nirmalaji Queueing For?

Celebs and commoners cast their votes in the second phase of the Lok Sabha election on Friday, April 26, 2024

Is Salman Planning To Move Out Of Mumbai?

'With his safety in the city being jeopardised, Bhai is looking at moving to his farmhouse in Panvel permanently.'

Arms, ammunition found in CBI raid in Bengal's Sandeshkhali

The CBI during its probe got inputs of a large cache of arms hidden in Sandeshkhali. On Friday morning, a CBI team started a search operation during which the arms, including foreign-made pistols, were seized, the officials said.

Kotak Mahindra Bank's loan, deposit growth may be impacted after RBI curbs

Kotak Mahindra Bank's loan and deposit growth are likely to be affected after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) asked the private-sector lender not to take on board new customers through the bank's online and mobile banking channels and...