Indians have another reason to smile as the World Health Organisation (WHO) on Thursday officially declared India as a polio-free nation.

For the record, India has not reported any new case of polio for three consecutive years now.

Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said, "This (southeast Asia) is the fourth region to be certified polio-free. The distant dream of polio eradication in the region is now a reality."

Azad said that resources were never allowed to be a problem for the campaign against polio. "It was an unbelievable operation. It is a significant step towards global eradication of polio."

Apart from India, the other countries which were given polio-free certificates were Bangladesh, Bhutan, North Korea, Thailand, Indonesia, the Maldives and Myanmar.