Universal Immunization Programme (UIP)

What is the Universal Immunization Programme?

Universal Immunization Programme (UIP) is the Government of India's routine vaccination programme, implemented by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare under the Reproductive and Child Health component of the National Health Mission. It began as the Expanded Programme on Immunization in 1978 and was renamed and widened into the Universal Immunization Programme in 1985, when coverage was extended beyond urban areas.

UIP is one of the largest public health programmes in the world. According to the Press Information Bureau, it reaches about 2.54 crore newborns and 2.9 crore pregnant women every year, entirely free of cost, through a publicly funded network of health centres, frontline workers and cold-chain infrastructure.

Key objectives of UIP

• Increase immunisation coverage across all districts and populations.
• Improve the quality of immunisation services.
• Establish a reliable cold chain down to the health facility level.
• Monitor programme performance.
• Achieve self-sufficiency in vaccine production.

Main features

• Free protection against 12 vaccine-preventable diseases.
• Vaccines delivered at government hospitals, primary health centres, sub-centres, urban health posts and outreach sessions such as Village Health, Sanitation and Nutrition Days.
• eVIN, the Electronic Vaccine Intelligence Network, digitises vaccine stock management from the national level down to sub-district cold-chain points.
• U-WIN digitally records each vaccination event and issues a QR-coded e-vaccination certificate.
• Full immunisation coverage has risen from 62% in 2015 to 98.4% in January 2026.

Who is eligible for the Universal Immunization Programme?

You can get UIP vaccines if:

• You are a newborn, infant or child in India due for any dose in the National Immunisation Schedule, from the birth dose up to the DPT booster at 5-6 years.
• You are an adolescent due for the Td dose at 10 years or 16 years.
• You are a pregnant woman due for Td-1, Td-2 or a Td booster.
• You are a partially vaccinated or zero-dose child - catch-up doses are given through Mission Indradhanush rounds.

There is no income limit, no caste or category requirement, no residence proof requirement and no fee. Vaccination is offered to every child and pregnant woman regardless of where the family lives or whether it holds any document.

Who is not eligible or covered:

• Japanese encephalitis vaccine is not given nationally. It is provided only to people living in endemic districts identified by the government; families in non-endemic districts are not eligible for it under UIP.
• Vaccines outside the UIP basket - for example, those given only in private practice - are not free and are not part of the programme.
• People seeking vaccination at private hospitals cannot claim reimbursement under UIP. The programme funds services delivered through the public system.
• A child who has already completed a given dose is not eligible for a repeat of that dose; the auxiliary nurse midwife decides the next due dose from the MCP card or the U-WIN record.

Which vaccines are given under UIP?

The vaccines supplied under the programme are BCG; DPT; Td; bivalent oral polio vaccine; measles-rubella; hepatitis B; the pentavalent vaccine combining DPT, hepatitis B and Haemophilus influenzae type b; rotavirus vaccine; pneumococcal conjugate vaccine; and Japanese encephalitis vaccine in endemic districts. In the past decade, the Inactivated Polio Vaccine was added in 2015, rotavirus vaccine in 2016, and the measles-rubella and pneumococcal conjugate vaccines in 2017.

What is the national immunisation schedule?

How to apply for and access UIP vaccination

1. Get the Mother and Child Protection (MCP) card issued at your first antenatal visit or at the child's first immunisation contact at any government health facility. This card carries the schedule and the record of doses.
2. Ask the ASHA or anganwadi worker in your area for the date and place of the next immunisation session - a sub-centre, primary health centre, urban health post, or a Village Health, Sanitation and Nutrition Day session.
3. Get the beneficiary registered on U-WIN, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare's immunisation registry, using the mother's or guardian's mobile number, so due dates and certificates are tracked digitally.
4. Attend on the due date with the MCP card. The auxiliary nurse midwife checks the record, administers the doses due for that age and enters them in the card and in U-WIN.
5. Wait at the session site for the observation period advised by the health worker, and note the next due date written on the card before leaving.
6. If a dose is missed, take the child to the nearest health facility or the next Mission Indradhanush round - catch-up doses are given free and the schedule is resumed rather than restarted.
7. Download the QR-based e-vaccination certificate from U-WIN when the doses are complete.

How much does UIP vaccination cost?

Nothing. All vaccines under UIP are provided free of cost to children, adolescents and pregnant women at government health facilities, and the Government of India bears the cost of vaccines, cold chain and service delivery. This covers the birth doses, all primary doses, the boosters and the Td doses in pregnancy.

What has UIP achieved?

Vaccination has eradicated smallpox in India and eliminated polio and maternal and neonatal tetanus. The last polio case in the country was reported on 13 January 2011 in Howrah, West Bengal. India celebrates National Vaccination Day on 16 March each year, marking the first dose of oral polio vaccine given under the Pulse Polio Programme launched in 1995.

According to the Press Information Bureau, full immunisation coverage rose from 62% in 2015 to 98.4% in January 2026, while the percentage of zero-dose children in the total population dropped from 0.11% in 2023 to 0.06% in 2024. India supplies roughly 60% of the world's vaccines, and during the COVID-19 pandemic supplied over 200 crore vaccine doses.

What is new in UIP in 2026?

Two significant additions were made in early 2026.

• Indigenous Td vaccine: An indigenously manufactured tetanus and adult diphtheria vaccine was launched on 21 February 2026, produced at the Central Research Institute, Kasauli. About 55 lakh doses were to be supplied to UIP by April 2026.
• Nationwide HPV vaccination campaign: Launched on 28 February 2026 from Ajmer, Rajasthan, the campaign targets 14-year-old girls to protect them against cervical cancer, with around 1.15 crore girls expected to be vaccinated free of cost at government health facilities.

Where to get help

• MoHFW 24x7 helpline: 1075.
• Nearest ASHA, anganwadi worker or auxiliary nurse midwife for session dates and missed-dose catch-up.
• U-WIN platform for registration, due-date tracking and downloading the digital vaccination certificate.
• National Health Mission website, nhm.gov.in, for the immunisation section and state-level contacts.

No fee is charged for any UIP vaccine, and no private agent is involved. If a facility asks for payment for a UIP vaccine, raise it with the medical officer in charge of the health facility or the district immunisation officer.