At least 80, 000 children die of measles each year, but measles vaccination through the UIP is not more than 70%.

BBC: India's battle to finish off polio

The announcement promises deploying large numbers of health workers to cover more and more children under the Universal Immunisation Programme (UIP), one of the world's largest immunisation programmes, covering some 26 million children born each year.

BBC: India's battle to finish off polio

As of date, about 40% of India's children are left out of the UIP - upping these numbers would make a huge difference to current infant mortality rates in the country (57 per 1, 000 live births according to the National Family Health Survey of 2005-2006 but as low as 15 in the state of Kerala).

BBC: India's battle to finish off polio