The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) on Thursday said that an accelerated COVID-19 vaccination program covering a large part of India's adult population will be key for demand revival.

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T V Narendran, MD and CEO of Tata Steel and CII's newly appointed President told the media that economic recovery in India is dependent on a sped-up vaccination drive.

According to CII calculations, a minimum of 71.2 lakh average daily doses must be administered between now and December to cover India's entire adult population.

"A significant part of the population needs to be vaccinated to capitalise on the upcoming festive season", Narendran said, adding, that the CII suggests the government to ramp up domestic production to at least 175 crore doses by December this year.

To enable this, CII has urged the government to fast-track all necessary licensing requirements, make advance purchase agreements, and institute capital subsidies and grants to incentivise production.

The trade association group also suggested vaccine IP owners to issue voluntary licenses along with the transfer of technology.

Narendran said, "If we do not push hard enough now, we will have more vaccine doses and fewer people to vaccinate due to vaccine hesitancy". To that effect, the government should consider incentives like cash and food, and incentives for those who are vaccinated with two doses.

CII has proposed that there should be a Vaccine Czar who can make decisions and coordinate vaccine coverage in India, Narendran told the media. He pointed to how a dedicated Vaccine Minister in the country, like in the United Kingdom, can ensure speedy and equitable distribution of vaccines across the country.

He also said that the government should tap into private sector expertise and work to set up COVID-19 care and diagnostic centers. Narendran called for special incentives to set up medical facilities in remote areas.

The Tata Steel MD announced that the CII is preparing a COVID Preparedness Index for states, in which they will be ranked on various parameters including the number of ICU beds, percentage of population vaccinated, and access to oxygen facilities to assess their level of preparedness.