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India has supplied more than 36 million doses of coronavirus vaccines to various countries, of which 6.75 million doses have been provided as grant assistance, a spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said at a press briefing Thursday.

“As of now, we have provided a total of 36,194,000 doses to various countries. This includes 6,750,000 doses supplied under grant assistance and 29,444,000 doses under various commercial contracts,” said Anurag Srivastava, spokesperson for the MEA.

India is the world’s biggest vaccine manufacturer and has pledged to donate millions of doses to neighboring countries. The country’s Serum Institute is producing the vaccine developed in the UK by AstraZeneca for domestic use and export.

The supply of vaccines to countries will continue in a phased manner over the coming weeks and months while ensuring that domestic requirements for the national vaccination program are kept in mind, he added.

India has sent consignments of Covid-19 vaccine doses as gifts to countries such as Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal, Bhutan, the Maldives, Mauritius, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, Bahrain, Oman, Afghanistan, Barbados, and Dominica.

India has also offered locally-made vaccines to all members of the diplomatic corps (foreign missions) and their families based in the country, said Srivastava.

“It has been offered not only to the diplomats of countries but also to those of UN agencies and intergovernmental organizations working in India. This drive will cover all the locations where they are based,” he said. 

Countries that have received the vaccines under commercial contracts include Brazil, Morocco, Myanmar, Egypt, Algeria, South Africa, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates.

Daily new cases in India have plummeted, dropping from a peak of over 90,000 infections in September down to just over 10,000 a day in February. On February 9, the capital Delhi reported zero virus deaths for the first time in nearly nine months, according to COVID19INDIA, a website that aggregates Covid-19 data from official sources.