The Centre has provided Rs 1,828 crore so far to states and union territories under the emergency Covid response package to combat the pandemic.

A total of 15 percent of the allocated amount for the ‘Emergency Covid Response Package’ by the Central Government has been sent to the states and UTs to empower the fight against Covid-19.

This package will prove helpful in the development of health infrastructure and in the fight against Covid-19 across the nation, said Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya.

In a tweet, Mandaviya said, “It is 15 percent of the total amount of the package”. This package will be helpful in the development of health infrastructure across the nation, he said.

As India is reeling under the second wave of the Covid pandemic, the allocated fund would accelerate the vaccination drive against the virus.

The data given by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to the Lok Sabha on July 23 shows that Maharashtra has got ₹1,259.33 crore which amounts to 14 per cent of the total central funds but at the same time, the State also leads the chart of the total number of Covid-19 cases and deaths in India.

As per the Centre’s data available on July 29, 2021, Maharashtra has 20 per cent of total Covid-19 cases in India followed by Kerala which has reported 10 per cent of total cases. However, Kerala has received ₹648.17 crore as central aid which is about 7 per cent of the total released funds.

Karnataka with 28,40,147 Covid-19 cases stands third in the list of States having the highest number of cases and has received funds of ₹469 crore (5 per cent of the total released funds).

Despite reporting same 5 per cent of total Covid-19 cases like Uttar Pradesh and Delhi, West Bengal received just ₹339.81 crore funds, which is less than the sum received by the other two States.

India’s Covid-19 vaccination coverage crossed the landmark of 46 crore on July 30. Cumulatively, 46,15,18,479 vaccine doses have been administered through 54,94,423 sessions, as per the data of the Health Ministry. A total of 52,99,036 vaccine doses were administered in the last 24 hours.

Meanwhile, India registered a single-day rise of 41,649 new cases in the last 24 hours. India’s Covid-19 tally climbed to 3,16,13,993 on Saturday.

The death toll stands at 4,23,810 with 593 more people succumbing to it in the last 24 hours, the Union health data said. Out of the total number of people infected since the beginning of the pandemic, 3,07,81,263 have already recovered and 37,291 patients have recovered in the last 24 hours. This accounts for an overall recovery rate of 97.37 percent.