India’s Universal Immunization Programme (UIP) is one of the largest vaccination programmes in the world, targeting about 26 million newborns and 34 million pregnant women every year.
The programme delivers vaccines through more than 13 million immunization sessions annually across health facilities, anganwadi centres, and community outreach sites.
India maintains a nationwide cold chain network with nearly 29,000 cold chain points and over 85,000 equipment units to ensure vaccines remain effective during storage and transport.
More than 2.5 million frontline health workers, including ANMs, ASHAs, and Anganwadi workers, support vaccination delivery and community mobilization.
Government initiatives such as Mission Indradhanush have helped improve vaccination coverage and reach millions of children who previously missed routine immunization.
Every year, India vaccinates more children than the entire population of many countries. This large scale public health effort is carried out through the Universal Immunization Programme, which delivers life saving vaccines to millions of children and pregnant women throughout India.
India observes National Vaccination Day on March 16 to highlight the importance of immunization in preventing infectious diseases. Vaccination remains one of the most effective public health interventions. According to the World Health Organization, vaccines prevent approximately 4 to 5 million deaths globally each year by protecting people from vaccine preventable diseases.¹
At the centre of India’s immunization strategy is the Universal Immunization Programme (UIP) operated by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Each year, the programme targets around 26 million newborns and 34 million pregnant women, delivering vaccines through more than 13 million immunization sessions nationwide.² With one of the largest birth cohorts in the world, India must vaccinate tens of millions of children every year to maintain routine immunization coverage.
India’s organized immunization efforts began in 1978 with the Expanded Programme on Immunization. In 1985, the programme was expanded and renamed the Universal Immunization Programme to increase vaccination coverage nationwide.³
Today, the programme serves a birth cohort of nearly 27 million children annually, making it one of the largest routine vaccination programmes globally.⁴ The UIP is implemented under the National Health Mission and provides vaccines free of cost through government health facilities and outreach sessions.
The programme protects children and pregnant women against several vaccine preventable diseases, including tuberculosis, diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, polio, measles, rubella, hepatitis B, rotavirus diarrhoea, infections caused by Haemophilus influenzae type b, pneumococcal disease, and Japanese encephalitis in endemic areas. The Universal Immunization Programme currently includes 12 vaccines that protect against 12 vaccine preventable diseases.⁵
Delivering vaccines throughout a country as large and diverse as India requires extensive planning and coordination. Each year, around 13 million immunization sessions are conducted nationwide.² These sessions take place at government health facilities as well as community locations such as anganwadi centres, schools, and village outreach sites.
Microplanning at district and sub district levels helps health workers identify eligible children and pregnant women, organize vaccination sessions, and ensure that beneficiaries receive vaccines according to the recommended schedule.
Vaccines must be stored and transported within specific temperature ranges to remain effective. Maintaining these conditions requires a nationwide cold chain infrastructure.
India operates nearly 29,000 cold chain points where vaccines are stored before distribution to health facilities.⁶ The system includes equipment such as walk in cold rooms, deep freezers, ice lined refrigerators, cold boxes, and vaccine carriers used during transportation.
Overall, the country maintains more than 85,000 cold chain equipment units that help maintain recommended temperatures during storage and transport of vaccines throughout the immunization network.⁶
The success of the immunization programme depends heavily on frontline health workers who operate at the community level.
Auxiliary Nurse Midwives (ANMs) administer vaccines during immunization sessions. Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) mobilize families and inform parents about vaccination schedules. Anganwadi workers assist with community outreach and maintain records of eligible children.
Across India, more than 2.5 million frontline health workers participate in immunization related activities, including vaccination, community mobilization, and tracking children who may have missed scheduled doses.⁷ Their role is particularly important in rural and underserved areas where access to healthcare facilities may be limited.
Routine immunization services are provided through both fixed health facilities and outreach sessions conducted in communities. Outreach sessions allow vaccination teams to reach villages, remote settlements, and urban slums where families may face barriers to accessing health facilities.
To address gaps in coverage, the Government of India launched Mission Indradhanush, a national campaign designed to improve vaccination coverage among children who had missed routine immunization services.
Government assessments found that early phases of Mission Indradhanush helped increase full immunization coverage by about 6.7 percent in participating districts within one year of implementation.⁸ Since its launch in 2014, Mission Indradhanush and its intensified phases have helped vaccinate more than 50 million children and over 13 million pregnant women.⁸
Tracking vaccination coverage for millions of beneficiaries requires reliable health data systems. Health workers record vaccination information during immunization sessions and report it through national health management information systems.
To strengthen monitoring, digital tools are being introduced to support beneficiary tracking. The U WIN platform is designed to digitally register children and pregnant women receiving vaccines and maintain electronic vaccination records.⁹ Such digital systems can improve monitoring of immunization coverage and help reduce missed vaccine doses.
India has made significant progress in expanding vaccination coverage over the past decades. Government reports indicate that full immunization coverage reached approximately 93.5 percent during 2023 to 2024, reflecting improvements in routine immunization services nationwide.¹⁰
Earlier national surveys such as the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) reported 76.4 percent full immunization coverage among children aged 12 to 23 months, highlighting how coverage has improved through sustained public health efforts.¹¹
India has also reduced the number of children who receive no vaccines at all. Government data indicates that the proportion of zero dose children declined from 0.11 percent in 2023 to 0.06 percent in 2024.¹²
Despite these improvements, challenges remain. Geographic barriers, differences in healthcare access, and gaps in awareness continue to influence vaccination coverage in some regions.
India’s Universal Immunization Programme represents one of the largest routine vaccination efforts in the world. Through a nationwide cold chain network, extensive outreach programmes, and the work of millions of frontline health workers, vaccines are delivered to children and pregnant women across diverse communities.
National Vaccination Day serves as a reminder of the importance of routine immunization in protecting public health. Global health estimates suggest that every dollar invested in vaccination generates around sixteen dollars in economic and health benefits, underscoring the long term value of immunization programmes worldwide.¹³
With millions of children vaccinated every year, India’s immunization programme remains a critical pillar of the country’s public health system. Sustaining high vaccination coverage will remain essential for preventing vaccine preventable diseases and improving child health outcomes across India.
World Health Organization. “Immunization Coverage.”
https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/immunization-coverage
UNICEF India. “Immunization.”
https://www.unicef.org/india/what-we-do/immunization
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India. “Universal Immunization Programme.”
https://www.mohfw.gov.in/?q=en/Major-Programmes/universal-immunization-programme-uip
World Health Organization. “India Immunization Programme.”
https://www.who.int/india/health-topics/immunization
National Health Portal of India. “Universal Immunization Programme.”
https://www.nhp.gov.in/universal-immunization-programme_pg
Government of India. Intensified Mission Indradhanush Operational Guidelines (IMI 5.0).
https://itsu.org.in/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Intensified-Mission-Indradhanush-5.0-Operational-Guidelines.pdf
National Health Mission. Immunization Handbook for Health Workers.
https://nhm.gov.in/New_Updates_2018/NHM_Components/Immunization/Guildelines_for_immunization/Immunization_Handbook_for_Health_Workers-English.pdf
Press Information Bureau. “Mission Indradhanush.”
https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2071949
Vikaspedia. “U WIN Portal.”
https://vikaspedia.in/health/health-care-innovations/u-win-portal
Press Information Bureau. “India Achieves High Immunization Coverage.”
https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2042058
International Institute for Population Sciences. National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5).
https://rchiips.org/nfhs/NFHS-5Reports/India.pdf
Press Information Bureau. “Reduction in Zero Dose Children.”
https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2140343
World Health Organization. “Value of Vaccination.”
https://www.who.int/teams/immunization-vaccines-and-biologicals/essential-programme-on-immunization
