A man receives the COVID-19 vaccine at a vaccination center at Guwahati, capital of northeast Indian state of Assam on Feb. 18, 2021. (Photo: Xinhua)

The Chinese embassy is working on launching the "Spring Sprout" free vaccine program in India to inoculate Chinese nationals living in the South Asian country battling the COVID-19 epidemic with cases surging every day, a source told the Global Times.

The Global Times noticed that the Chinese Embassy in India initiated an online questionnaire on Tuesday to collect information about the vaccine administrations among Chinese nationals in the country.

A source close to the matter revealed to the Global Times on Wednesday that this questionnaire is part of the Chinese government's preparation to launch "Spring Sprout" free vaccine program in India. But the source did not say when the program would be ready and launched.

The survey comes as India has recorded more than 28 million cases as of Wednesday, the second most following the US. India recorded 132,788 new coronavirus cases and 3,207 deaths in the last 24 hours, Indian media reported Wednesday.

The survey said it is "to better grasp the specific situation of Chinese citizens in India and provide you with more epidemic prevention and safety services."

The survey developed questions including "Have you inoculated" "What kind of vaccines have you received" and "Would you like to be inoculated with Chinese vaccines."

The questionnaire will be open until Friday.

The Global Times learned from many Chinese in India that they are yearning for the "Spring Sprout" program launched by the Chinese government to receive shots.

China's "Spring Sprout" program that was launched in March aims to help and secure COVID-19 vaccines for its citizens abroad.

More than 500,000 Chinese nationals in more than 120 countries have benefited from the program as of May 19, according to the latest statistics.

Since the epidemic, the Chinese embassy in India has sent out anti-epidemic packages for Chinese nationals in India, such as masks and disinfectants. It also invited leading domestic Chinese experts to share them knowledge on COVID-19.