India is set to administer one billion Covid-19 vaccine doses, an important milestone after a slow start, even as a recent drop in inoculations worried the government and healthcare providers.

Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya will launch a song and an audio-visual film at the Mughal-era Red Fort in New Delhi around noon to “celebrate the landmark milestone”, his ministry said.

The country has already injected 998.5 million doses, nearly 90 per cent of them the AstraZeneca vaccine produced locally by the Serum Institute of India, according to a Reuters report.

“I appeal to all unvaccinated Indians to quickly get their shots and contribute to our historic golden vaccination journey,” Mandaviya said on Twitter.