India at the forefront of coronavirus vaccine development: PM Modi

'Science will never prosper in silos', says Prime Minister in speech appealing for international cooperation

India is "at the forefront" of international research to develop a vaccine for the coronavirus disease, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday as the country remained the second worst affected in the pandemic in terms of total infections.

"Today, we are seeing a decline in the number of cases per day and the growth rate of cases. India has one of the highest recovery rates of 88 per cent,” he said.

Modi, in a speech over video, said India had slowed down the spread of the pandemic because it was one of the first countries to adopt a lockdown. encourage the use of masks, and work on contact-tracing.

"We also have good scientific institutions. They have been India’s greatest assets, specially during the last few months, while fighting Covid-19,” he said. "The journey to these innovations must be shaped by collaboration and public participation. Science will never prosper in silos."

India has so far reported 7.55 million cases of the coronavirus and is second only to the United States in terms of total infections. Infections in India peaked in September and the pandemic would have run its course by early next year if precautions like social distancing and wearing facemasks are followed, said government-appointed committee last week.

Modi was speaking at the Grand Challenges Annual Meeting 2020, which was be co-hosted by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology, the Indian Council of Medical Research and NITI Aayog, along with the Grand Challenges Canada, the United States Agency for International Development and Wellcome, it said.

The annual meeting, for the last 15 years, has fostered international innovation collaborations to address the biggest challenges in health and development, said a statement from the Prime Minister's Office on Saturday.

World leaders, eminent scientists and researchers from across the globe will join this annual meeting to discuss key priorities for accelerating progress across the sustainable development goals in the post-pandemic world and elaborate on addressing the challenges to manage Covid-19.