MOSCOW, May 14. /TASS/. Delivery of the second batch of Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine to India is expected by the end of this week, the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) said in a statement.

"Sputnik V has become the first foreign-made vaccine that is used in India contributing to the world’s largest COVID-19 vaccination campaign. Inoculations with Sputnik V in Hyderabad today followed the arrival of the first batch of the vaccine in India on May 1, 2021. The second batch of Sputnik V is expected to arrive in India by the end of the week," the fund said.

"Sputnik V is the first foreign-made vaccine used in India. RDIF stands ready to support our partners in India to launch a full-scale vaccination with Sputnik V as soon as possible. The safe and effective Russian vaccine, which to date is authorized in 65 countries, will make an important contribution in upscaling the vaccination in India and bringing down the number of cases," CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund Kirill Dmitriev said.

The Sputnik V vaccine was approved in India on April 12, 2021, as part of the fast track registration process. India is the leading manufacturing hub for the Russian vaccine. RDIF entered into agreements with the largest pharmaceutical manufacturers in India (Gland Pharma, Hetero Biopharma, Panacea Biotec, Stelis Biopharma, Virchow Biotech) to produce more than 850 mln doses of Sputnik V a year.

Russian-made Sputnik V is currently registered in 65 countries with a total population of over 3.2 bln people. Sputnik V ranks second in the world in terms of the number of approvals received by government regulators.

In late December 2019, Chinese officials informed the World Health Organization (WHO) about the outbreak of a previously unknown pneumonia in the city of Wuhan, in central China. Since then, cases of the novel coronavirus - named COVID-19 by the WHO - have been reported in every corner of the globe, including Russia. On March 11, 2020, the WHO declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic.