Bhubaneswar, May 6 -- Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Thursday requested the Central government to exempt Goods and Services Tax (GST) on purchase of vaccines for COVID-19.

In a letter to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Patnaik said that the states have been asked to purchase vaccines out of their own resources to cover the 18 to 45 years age group of the population. These purchases attract the GST making the vaccines costly for the states. Hence GST needs to be exempted completely.

"The exemption of the GST will reduce the cost for the States and facilitate our drive towards universal vaccination," Patnaik mentioned in the letter to the Centre.

The Chief Minister of Odisha has also sought financial assi...