RTI Appeal: CIC Directs DPIIT To Clarify Vaccine Funding Records
In response to the RTI application, DPIIT had stated that the requested information was not held by its logistics division
By : DC Correspondent
Update: 2026-01-07 16:03 GMT
New Delhi: The Central Information Commission has directed the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) to file an affidavit stating that details of government funding extended to Covid-19 vaccine manufacturers during the pandemic are not available with it.
The direction came while hearing an RTI appeal filed by Mahavir Singh Sharma, who had sought information on thousands of crores of rupees released by the Union government to Serum Institute of India and Bharat Biotech for Covid-19 vaccine production during 2020 and 2021.
In response to the RTI application, DPIIT had stated that the requested information was not held by its logistics division. “The requisite information sought is not available with the logistics division, DPIIT, and may therefore be treated as ‘NIL’,” the department said. The First Appellate Authority subsequently upheld this reply.
While observing that DPIIT’s response was appropriate, the Commission said an affidavit was required to formally place the department’s claim of non-availability of information on record before disposing of the appeal. The CIC directed DPIIT to submit the affidavit within 15 days, both by post and by uploading it on the Commission’s compliance portal, with a copy to be served on the appellant.
In his RTI application, Sharma had sought details on whether the ₹4,500 crore released by the Government of India to Serum Institute and Bharat Biotech without bank guarantees had been returned with interest or adjusted against vaccine supplies. He also sought information on whether the government received all vaccine doses in exchange for the funds, details of vaccines exported with government approval, and amounts received by the manufacturers from overseas buyers.
Additionally, Sharma asked whether all Indian citizens were administered Covishield and Covaxin vaccines, the total expenditure incurred by the government on these vaccines, and whether any other Covid-19 vaccines were procured for public use.
During the hearing, DPIIT officials reiterated that the information sought was not held by their division and noted that the RTI application had originally been filed with the Department of Biotechnology before being transferred to DPIIT.