India holds vaccine drills ahead of mass inoculation drive; Covid-19 tally goes above 10.3 million

People gather on the first day of the New Year at Sangam, the confluence of rivers Ganga, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati, in Allahabad on January 1, 2021. - AFP

NEW DELHI, Jan 2 (AFP): India on Saturday staged nationwide drills to start one of the world's biggest coronavirus vaccination programmes as the drug regulator prepared to approve the first vaccine.

A government panel on Friday (Jan 1) recommended emergency use of the AstraZeneca-Oxford University shot and the first injections could be given in the coming week after the Drugs Control Authority of India gives final approval.