Bajaj Auto has started a vaccination drive for all its employees free of cost across its manufacturing facilities in a phased manner, the company said on Wednesday.

The mass vaccination drive will administer the Covishield vaccine to approximately 20,000 of its employees, off-roll employees, contract workers and their family members, the Pune-based automaker said in a release.

The company has already vaccinated employees and their family members above 45 years of age in the previous phase.

As part of the latest drive, vaccination camps have been started at the company's Akurdi, Chaka and Waluj facilities, where all employees, contract workers and their family members will be eligible for vaccination free of cost, Bajaj Auto said.

The vaccination at the Pantnagar plant in Uttrakhand will commence on June 5, the company said, adding it will gradually inoculate all its employees in a phased manner across the country.

“With a vaccinated workforce, we will not only be able to significantly reduce the stress on the public health systems but also get back to regular economic activity much faster. We look forward to our employees leaving behind all pandemic-related stress after the completion of this vaccination drive,” CP Tripathi, Advisor, Corporate Social Responsibility at Bajaj Auto Ltd, said.

The company said as a requirement, all employees will need to register on the COWIN app prior to the vaccination drive.