Dr. Jitendra Singh shares PM Modi's words on India's vaccine confidence
Synopsis
Union Science and Technology Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh shared PM Modi's statement citing India's COVID-19 vaccine achievement — developing indigenous vaccines, mass vaccination, and exports to over 100 countries — as proof of 21st-century India's self-confidence, at the ESTIC2026 forum.
Key Takeaways
PM Modi described India's COVID-19 vaccine success as the defining example of 21st-century India's self-confidence .
India developed indigenous vaccines including Covaxin and manufactured Covishield at scale from 2020–21 .
Under the Vaccine Maitri initiative , India exported COVID-19 vaccines to over 100 countries in early 2021.
Jitendra Singh shared the quote in the context of #ESTIC2026 , a science and technology conclave.
The vaccine story is being positioned as a template for India's broader Atmanirbhar Bharat technology ambitions.
When the world scrambled for vaccines and supply chains buckled, India did something few nations could — it developed its own, vaccinated at an unprecedented scale, and then sent doses across the globe. That is the confidence Prime Minister Narendra Modi says defines 21st-century India, and it is a line Union Science and Technology Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh amplified on X on Tuesday, October 27, 2026, under the hashtag #ESTIC2026.
What PM Modi said — and why it resonates at ESTIC2026
The quote, shared verbatim by Dr. Jitendra Singh, reads: 'कोरोना काल में हमने इसका उदाहरण देखा है' — 'We saw an example of this during the COVID era.' Modi recalls how, while many countries struggled with vaccine availability, India developed its own vaccine, conducted large-scale vaccination drives, and also exported vaccines to other nations. 'This is the self-confidence of 21st-century India,' the quote concludes. The context is #ESTIC2026 — a science and technology conclave where India's health-innovation story appears to be a centrepiece.
Covaxin, Covishield, and the Vaccine Maitri moment
The achievement Modi references has a concrete policy trail. India approved and rolled out indigenous COVID-19 vaccines — most notably Covaxin, developed domestically — alongside Covishield manufactured under licence, beginning in 2020–21. By early 2021, under the Vaccine Maitri initiative, India had dispatched doses to over 100 countries, from neighbouring South Asian nations to African and Caribbean states. At a moment when wealthy nations were hoarding supply, India's ability to both serve its own 1.4 billion people and act as a global supplier was a geopolitical statement as much as a public-health one.
Atmanirbhar Bharat's sharpest proof point
The Atmanirbhar Bharat — self-reliant India — push launched in 2020 found its most visceral proof point in the vaccine story. The pharmaceutical sector, long a quiet giant supplying generic medicines to the world, was suddenly the centrepiece of India's strategic identity. Dr. Jitendra Singh's decision to surface this quote at what appears to be a science-policy forum signals that the government wants that narrative firmly embedded in the country's technology ambitions going forward — not just as pandemic history, but as a repeatable model for future crises.
If India could industrialise vaccine production under pandemic pressure, the argument runs, it can do the same for semiconductors, space technology, and green energy. The COVID vaccine chapter is no longer just a health story — it is a template.
Point of View
The Science Ministry is deliberately fusing pandemic-era public-health triumph with a forward-looking technology-sovereignty narrative — the COVID vaccine moment as a scalable government-industry model. It reinforces the Atmanirbhar Bharat frame in sectors well beyond pharma, from semiconductors to space. The Vaccine Maitri reference also keeps India's soft-power credentials alive as it competes with China for influence across the Global South. The political subtext is clear: domestic capability, built under pressure, is now a diplomatic and strategic asset.
NationPress
27 Oct 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Vaccine Maitri initiative India launched?
Vaccine Maitri (Vaccine Friendship) was an initiative launched in early 2021 through which India supplied COVID-19 vaccine doses to over 100 countries , combining humanitarian aid and diplomatic outreach at a time of acute global vaccine shortage.
Which COVID-19 vaccines did India develop indigenously?
Covaxin , developed by Bharat Biotech in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research, was India's primary indigenously developed COVID-19 vaccine, approved in January 2021. Covishield was the AstraZeneca vaccine manufactured at scale in India by the Serum Institute.
What is ESTIC2026 that Dr. Jitendra Singh referenced?
#ESTIC2026 appears to be a science and technology conclave or conference referenced in the post. Details about the full name and venue have not been independently verified beyond what the post indicates.
What does Atmanirbhar Bharat mean for India's science sector?
Atmanirbhar Bharat (Self-Reliant India), launched in 2020 , is a policy framework to reduce import dependence in critical sectors. In science and technology, it has driven domestic vaccine manufacturing, space capability, and semiconductor ambitions, with the COVID-19 vaccine story cited as its most visible early success.
Why is PM Modi's vaccine quote significant at a science forum?
Invoking the COVID-19 vaccine success at a science forum frames domestic innovation capacity as a strategic national asset — not just a public-health achievement. It signals that the government views the vaccine model as a blueprint for future high-technology self-reliance across sectors.
