National Vaccination Day and Universal Immunisation Programme:
India celebrated National Vaccination Day (16th March) while highlighting major achievements of the Universal Immunisation Programme (UIP), including 98.4% full immunisation coverage by January 2026 and the launch of nationwide HPV vaccination and an indigenous Td vaccine in 2026. National Vaccination Day is celebrated every year on 16th March to commemorate the first dose of Oral Polio Vaccine administered in India in 1995 under the Pulse Polio Programme.The programme led to the elimination of polio in India, with the last reported case in 2011 in Howrah, West Bengal. The Universal Immunisation Programme (UIP) is a flagship public health programme of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare aimed at providing free vaccination to children and pregnant women against vaccine-preventable diseases.
