PM holds meet with ministers, says vaccine drive must be scaled up.

Amid speculation over an imminent cabinet reshuffle, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a meeting with his council of ministers, during which a presentation on the ongoing Covid-19 vaccination programme was made, sources said.

In the almost four-hour meeting, Modi, who chaired the meeting, urged the ministers to work hard to overcome the damage caused by the second surge of the pandemic and to see that a third wave does not hit the country badly, sources added. Niti Aayog member V K Paul made the presentation on the progress of the vaccination programme.

In the virtual meeting, which followed a series of meetings the PM had with his senior ministers to review the performance of key ministries, there were presentations by the ministries of road, transport, telecom and civil aviation.