HMD unsure of making dent in India's coronavirus syringe market

India could soon find itself on the horns, let’s make that needles, of a dilemma as it sets out to buy the millions of syringes it will need for the coronavirus vaccine.

More than half the auto disposable syringes bought by the government — 300 million syringes per annum — for mass immunisation programmes for other diseases are imported from China because they are inexpensive. 

For the rest, Indian firms are forced to match the low price but many of them fail to pick up the orders, which then go back to the lowest bidder. 

These syringes, which ensure single use in a