Serum Institute has sought indemnity against legal proceedings linked to the use of its vaccines in India as well as the government's nod to produce Russian Covid-19 jab Sputnik V in this country. "Not just Serum Institute of India (SII), all the vaccine companies should get indemnity protection against liabilities if foreign companies are granted it," a company official told the local media on Thursday. Read:India's COVID-19 tally rises to 28,441,986 Serum's demand comes in the wake of media reports that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government is planning to grant legal protection to foreign Covid vaccine makers Pfizer and Moderna. The vaccine maker has also sought permission from the country's drugs controller for a test licence to manufacture Sputnik V shots in India. "SII put up an application to the Drugs Controller General of India on Wednesday, seeking permission to manufacture Sputnik V in India," another company official told the local media. Read: India to start trials on safety, efficacy of mixing Covid vaccine doses  

Unable to cope with the growing demand for its Covid-19 jabs in India and abroad, the Serum Institute is reportedly planning to soon start the production of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine in other countries as well. Serum's Covishield is being widely used in both India and Bangladesh's mega inoculation drives. Bangladesh has inked a deal with Serum to buy 30 million doses of Covishield, but a recent surge in Covid cases in India has made the delivery of the remaining doses uncertain. Read Will soon come out of uncertainty over vaccine availability: Minister   Serum's chief executive officer Adar Poonawalla revealed his plans to set up vaccine production units outside India in an interview with The Times newspaper. "There's going to be an announcement in the next few days," he told the British daily.  Poonawalla hoped to increase the Serum Institute's production capacity from the existing 2.5 billion to 3 billion doses a year within six months, the newspaper reported. Read Bangladesh approves emergency use of Russian Sputnik V vaccine India is currently witnessing a ferocious second wave of Covid-19. On Saturday, the country registered a record four lakh cases in a span of 24 hours, for the first time after reporting over three lakh daily infections for nine days in a row. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi rolled out the world's largest Covid vaccination drive on January 16. Covishield and local company Bharat Biotech's Covaxin are currently being given to citizens. However, several states in India have run out of Covid vaccines. Read PVA bats for suspension of intellectual property rights on Covid jabs