India will fight COVID-19 pandemic with full caution, vigilance: PM Narendra Modi amid surge in cases

Speaking at a virtual event to release the 10th installment under the PM-KISAN scheme, PM Modi said "Corona cannot stop India's pace".

Pic Courtesy: ANI

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday (January 1) exuded confidence that India will fight the COVID-19 pandemic with full ‘caution and vigilance’. 

His statement comes as the country has once again been witnessing a worrying rise in daily coronavirus cases for the past few days, which has stoked the fear of a third wave. 

Speaking at a virtual event to release the 10th installment under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme, Modi also hailed India's achievement in providing over 145 crore doses of COVID-19 vaccine so far, PTI reported. He added that "Corona cannot stop India's pace".

“India will fight the Covid-19 pandemic with full caution and vigilance and will also protect its national interests,” Modi said. 

Further, the PM stressed on the achievements made by the country in 2021 across various sectors, including health, defence and agriculture. He said during the pandemic, the central government provided additional food grains for free to over 80 crore beneficiaries, which cost around Rs 2.6 lakh crore to the exchequer.

Meanwhile, India recorded 22,775 new COVID-19 cases and 406 deaths in the last 24 hours, as per the Ministry of Health on Saturday. With 161 fresh Omicron infections, the total tally of these cases claimed to 1,431. 

(With agency inputs)