A countrywide Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination campaign for 14-year-old girls, as a protection against cervical cancer, will be launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi from Ajmer, Rajasthan, on Saturday the Health Ministry said.
The programme will cover approximately 1.15 crore girls in the specific age group, across all States and Union Territories. Multinational company MSD’s Gardasil – a quadrivalent HPV vaccine that protects against HPV types 16 and 18 (which cause cervical cancer), as well as types 6 and 11 – will be used in the programme. The vaccine will be provided free at designated Government health facilities.
The vaccines to be used in the national programme have been procured from GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance, and are approved by India’s drug regulator and meet quality and cold-chain standards, the Ministry added.
“Vaccination will be voluntary and informed consent from parents/ guardians will be obtained prior to administration,” a note from the Ministry said, and the special campaign will be run over three months, during which eligible girls can receive the vaccine at designated facilities. Thereafter, the vaccine will be available on routine immunization days, it added.
The vaccination will be done at primary health centres, community health centres, sub-district and district hospitals, and Government Medical Colleges and Hospitals. “All sites will have functional Cold Chain Points (CCPs) and will be linked to 24×7 government health facilities to ensure immediate medical support and management of any rare Adverse Events Following Immunization (AEFI),” the note said.
Cervical cancer remains the second most common cancer among women in India, with over 1.2 lakh new cases and nearly 80 thousand deaths annually as per the GLOBOCAN 2022 data. Scientific evidence establishes that almost all cases are caused by persistent infection with high-risk types of Human Papillomavirus (HPV), particularly types 16 and 18, which account for more than 80 per cent of cervical cancer cases in India, the note said.
Extensively studied vaccine
HPV vaccines are among the most extensively studied vaccines globally, with more than 500 million doses administered worldwide since 2006. Scientific evidence demonstrates 93–100 per cent effectiveness in preventing cervical cancer caused by vaccine-covered HPV types, it added.
In June 2022, the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) on Immunization of the World Health Organization concluded that a single-dose schedule provides protection comparable to two-dose schedules. The December 2022 WHO Position Paper further endorsed single-dose schedules as an effective and programmatically advantageous option for girls aged 9–20 years, the Health Ministry said, adding that India’s approach is in line with the global recommendations and guidance of the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (NTAGI).
With this launch, India will join over 160 countries that have introduced HPV vaccination into their immunization schedules. More than 90 countries are implementing single-dose HPV vaccination schedules, improving coverage, affordability, and programme efficiency, it added. Several countries have already reported a substantial reduction in HPV infection rates, pre-cancerous lesions, and cervical cancer incidence following widespread vaccination, the Ministry said.
Published on February 27, 2026