New Delhi: Even though India allocates thousands of crores of rupees annually to vaccinate children, RTI data shows that a significant portion of the funds have not been spent, raising questions over implementation in the country’s biggest public health scheme – the National Immunization Programme. Under the program – which provides free vaccines to protect children against several diseases including polio, measles and hepatitis B – the allocation has increased to over Rs 3,400 crore in 2025-26, but spending has consistently lagged. About Rs 2,250 crore was utilized in 2023-24 against the approved Rs 3,232 crore, while the expenditure in 2024-25 dropped to about Rs 1,971 crore against the approved Rs 3,186 crore. For financial year 2025-26, only about Rs 1,060 crore of the sanctioned Rs 3,434 crore was spent – ​​the figures were as of December and marked provisional. The data is based on financial monitoring reports submitted by states and union territories. Despite this, the program continues on a large scale. Government data showed that 2.3 crore to 2.5 crore children were vaccinated annually between 2021-22 and 2024-25. The data shows that full vaccination coverage has increased from 88.2% in 2021-22 to 98.1% in 2024-25, although there has been a slight decline in 2023-24. RTI activist Amit Gupta said the program is important for the safety of children and requires efficient, transparent use of funds with strong accountability. He also urged the government to expand coverage to include influenza, typhoid and hepatitis vaccines, saying these were now essential for comprehensive child protection. However, the RTI response also points to shortcomings in the data system. Gender-wise vaccination figures were not provided and instead relegated to another division, indicating fragmented record keeping. The vaccines are procured from a network of public and private manufacturers, including Serum Institute of India, Bharat Biotech, Biological E and Indian Immunologicals.