‘Lamp lighting, bell ringing was social experiment’: Shah lauds India’s battle against Covid

Union Home Minister Amit Shah, CM Patel and others on Tuesday. ANI

REITERATING INDIA’S “success story” in the fight against the Covid pandemic, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday said, “Some years ago, Covid shook the world and in the initial days, there was doubt whether we would find a way out, and experts around the world worried about India. And we know that our health infrastructure at that point was not that strong. They thought that they would handle Covid but what about India? In layman’s terms, they warned that trucks upon trucks of bodies would be there. But when Covid ended, my country had fought the best against it.”

“And those who made fun asking diya jalaane se aur ghanti bajaane se Corona chala jayega (whether Corona (pandemic) would end by lighting lamps or ringing bells), they didn’t know that it was a social experiment to raise spirits by lighting diyas in homes,” said the Union Minister.

Shah, addressing the foundation-laying ceremony of India’s second Biosafety Level 4 (BSL-4) containment facility being developed in his constituency in Gandhinagar, said, “My relatives live in the US. It took them three months to get the vaccine certificate but India vaccinated 140 crore people twice and everyone got the certificate immediately – with (Prime Minister) Modiji’s smiling face – on their phone.”

He said, “There were vaccine camps everywhere, medical workers, volunteers and like a mission, we came out of the danger in a secure manner. Many people came to study how we did it and they asked me about it. I told them there wasn’t a scientific reason, but it was a result of social science. How? I told them that in your country, only the government fought Covid. But in our country, there is a federal structure and so the central government was there, state governments also fought, local (civic) bodies also fought and 140 crore Indians got together to fight Corona (Coronavirus).”

Shah also said that PM Modi commissioned scientists to develop a Covid vaccine when there were less than 300 patients in India. He said, “I am a witness… that when the world was still quiet about it and India didn’t have more than 300 Covid patients, at that time and we didn’t even have testing facilities, Modiji formed a team to develop a vaccine and see how two vaccines were developed here, given to 140 crore people and given to 70 other countries. Earlier, vaccines developed in other countries would be introduced in India after 11-12 years. But we made the Covid vaccines, gave it first to our people and saved other countries as well.”

On the development of the BSL-4 lab itself, Shah said, “Today, we are entering a new era of health security and biotechnology of India. The BSL-4 biocontainment facility at GBRC will become a health shield for the country in the coming days. Our PM believes that science and technology shouldn’t be limited to research but should become a pillar of the country’s progress. We are taking a step forward in that direction today… After the virology lab in Pune this will be the second top lab in India. But this is the first such lab being developed by a state government and the credit goes to Gujarat.”

He added, “A pillar of India’s health security is going to be built at a cost of Rs 362 crore over 11,000 square metres here. We all have been through the Covid pandemic and the kind of research that is required, we have been left behind in a way. With this new facility, the youth working in the sector will get new opportunities and India will be able to move forward in this sector.”

On the need for BSL-4 labs, Shah said, “In Gujarat, we have seen the drastic impact of the Chandipura virus and lumpy skin disease. These diseases have given us a kind of warning that we are urgently in need of labs in excess of bio-safety level 3. This new lab will meet all those needs. Our aim is not temporary protection but research-based permanent protection and so this lab will meet all our requirements.”

On the biotechnology sector in India, Shah said, “There has been a lot of development in the biotechnology sector in the past 11 years. We have got a lot of success in this sector. In 2014, India’s bio-economy was 10 billion dollars. By the end of financial year 2024, it had crossed $166 billion which is 17 times the progress in 10 years, which shows that the youth of this country can do it, the industrialists can also do it, the need is to provide them with infrastructure and the cooperation of the government. In 2014, biotech startups were less than 500 and in 2025, the number has crossed 10,000. There were 6 Bio-incubaters in the year 2000, and there are 95 today in 2025. Incubation space increased 15 times from 60,000 sq feet to 9 lakh sq feet. The number of products went from 10 to more than 800 in the market. Any sector’s future and potential can be seen from patent filing. There were 125 in 2014, and in 2025, there were 1,300 patients filed. Private funding was Rs10 crore earlier and is now Rs7,000 crore in investment today.”

Shah also spoke about the Genome India Project, reiterated the prime minister’s concern on Antimicrobial Resistance and vaccine development and manufacturing in India.