India's 8 poorest states may spend 30% health budget on Covid vaccination

India's most socioeconomically backward states may have to spend as much as 30% of their health budgets to procure COVID-19 vaccines for their populations, an IndiaSpend analysis of population and state budget data has found.

These eight states--Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh--are among 20 that have announced COVID-19 vaccination free of cost for persons aged 18 to 44 years. They would have to