The Haryana government on Saturday said that a company in Malta has offered to supply 60 million, 6 crore, doses of Russia’s Covid-19 vaccine, Sputnik V, NDTV reported. The company, Pharma Regulatory Services, issued an “expression of interest” but did not bid for a contract, the government said in a statement.

“As per the offer made by the firm, the per dose cost of the vaccine will be nearly Rs 1,120,” the statement said. “The firm has further given a timeline of 30 days to supply the first batch of 5 lakh doses, followed by 1 million [10 lakh] doses every 20 days till supply is completed against a letter of credit issued in their name.”

Several states are facing a shortage of vaccines, which has severely hampered India’s inoculation drive. Many of them have sought to procure vaccines through global tenders or by approaching manufacturers directly. However, some administrations, including in Delhi and Punjab, have said that global vaccine makers refuse to coordinate with them.

Pharma Regulatory Services’ offer came a day after the global tender floated by the Haryana government inviting bids to supply Covid-19 vaccine on May 26 ended. The state government received no bids for the tender.

However, Haryana Additional Chief Secretary of Health Rajeev Arora said that the state was going through the expression of interest “carefully” to ascertain if the offer meets conditions set by the government.

Meanwhile, another pharmaceutical company, Bharat Serum and Vaccines Limited, has applied in the tender to supply 15,000 injections of Amphotericin B, a drug used in the treatment of mucormycosis, or “black fungus”, reported The Indian Express. Health Minister Anil Vij had said the government was exploring modalities to award the tender of injections to the single applicant.

Sputnik V is the third vaccine approved by India’s drug controller for emergency used in India in April. Besides Sputnik V, India has given approval of Serum Institute of India’s Covishield and Bhrat Biotech Covaxin vaccines for use.

Sputnik V has been given permission for emergency use in more than 65 countries. However, it is yet to be approved by the European Union or United States’ health authorities.

Meanwhile, India has so far administered 22,71,72,040 Covid-19 vaccine doses, with 4,47,12,147 getting both the shots, according to government data. On Saturday, India reported 1,20,529 new coronavirus infections during the previous 24 hours, its lowest daily rise in 58 days, while deaths rose by 3,380. The country’s tally of cases since the pandemic broke out in January 2020 stands at 2,86,94,879, with the toll increasing to 3,44,082.