On October 21, India administered the one billionth COVID-19 vaccine doses. But, the question is, why does the Modi government need a vaccine loan?

India has applied for a $2 billion loan from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and the Asian Development (ADB) to purchase around 700 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines. According to news agency PTI, the Manila-based ADB is expected to finance $1.5 billion of the loan and AIIB is considering providing $500 million.

Here's an explainer by The Wire's Sumit Mishra.

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