None of the nine vaccine suppliers who had responded to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) global tender for one crore doses has been able to qualify for the process owing to incomplete documentation. However, a BMC official claimed that the civic administration contacted Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories on Friday regarding supply of the Sputnik V vaccine. The official indicated that the distributor was ready to supply some stock on an experimental basis, but, the quantity is not yet known. 

The BMC had issued an expression of interest on May 12 to procure vaccines. The administration extended the deadline of submission of bids twice, as the potential suppliers needed time to submit all the documents including their contracts with the vaccine manufacturers. The extensions were given till May 25 and then till June 1.