Modi govt cuts ties with Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation on immunisation

Gates Foundation-backed unit had been funding secretariat of India's apex immunisation advisory body

All financial ties between the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (NTAGI) have been cut off by order of the Centre, reported the Economic Times on Wednesday. 

The Gates Foundation-funded Immunization Technical Support Unit (ITSU) had so far served as the secretariat of NTAGI, which is the country's apex immunisation advisory body and decides on vaccines that should become part of the government’s immunisation programme. However, according to the financial daily's report, the advisory body's secretariat will now be fully funded by the government. 

The reason behind this shut out?