NEW DELHI: After procuring sufficient quantities of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) and ramping up health infrastructure, the Centre has shifted its focus on increasing the procurement of medical equipment like ventilators, oxygen and oxygen cylinders, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) kits, N-95 masks and diagnostic kits to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic in the country. Emphasis is given on procurement from domestic manufacturers. In fact, India has become the largest manufacturer of PPEs after China.
Official sources said the country has sufficient quantities of HCQ, which has been found to be “effective” in the treatment of Covid-19 patients. The domestic manufacturing capacity of HCQ has been enhanced by 150%. That means production of HCQ has been increased from about 12 crore tablets to 30 crore tablets per month now. About 16 crore HCQ tablets have been supplied to Central and state institutions and pharmacies against a requirement of 2.5 crore. Thus, India is not only able to meet its own demand for HCQ, but also help other countries.
After securing the availability of HCQ, the government is taking all steps to procure medical equipment. A senior official said emphasis is being given on procuring them from domestic manufacturers. As a result, domestic production of PPEs has enhanced to 1.87 lakh per day from nil initially, whereas that of N-95 masks enhanced from nil to 2.30 lakh per day.
As per details provided by the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, there is a projected demand of 75,000 ventilators till June. Against this projected demand, there are 19,400 ventilators available. Orders for 60,884 ventilators have been placed by HLL Lifecare Limited, a PSU under the aegis of the Health Ministry, which is acting as the Central procurement agency. The major domestic players are Bharat Electronics Limited (in collaboration with Skanray), to whom orders for 30,000 ventilators have been placed; AgVa (in collaboration with M/s Maruti Suzuki Limited), to whom orders for 10,000 ventilators have been awarded; and AMTZ (AP Medtech Zone) to whom orders for 13,500 ventilators have been placed.
Regarding oxygen and oxygen cylinders, the Ministry says the country is self-sufficient. The total manufacturing capacity of oxygen is 6,400 MT, of which around 1,000 MT is used for medical oxygen. There are five big and 600 small manufacturers of oxygen, while about 409 hospitals have their own oxygen generation. There are about 1,050 cryogenic tankers in the country.
As per information, about 4.38 lakh medical oxygen cylinders are available for supply. Additionally, orders for 1.03 lakh new medical oxygen cylinders have been placed. Five lakh industrial oxygen cylinders have also been identified for conversion, if required. Besides, the government has also ordered the conversion of 60,000 cylinders.
As for PPEs, against the projected demand of around 2 crore PPEs, orders have been placed for more than 2.2 crore PPEs, said Ministry officials. Earlier, there was not any domestic manufacturer. But now there are 111 indigenous manufacturers, from whom orders for more than 1.4 crore PPEs have been placed. From a production capacity of around 3,300 COVID-19 PPEs per day in March end, within a month, India’s capacity has now been augmented to 1.8 lakh PPEs per day and very soon it will be above 2 lakh per day. The total projected demand of PPE kits till June 2020 has been estimated to be 2.01 crore. The government has issued orders to the tune of 2.22 crore, of which orders to the tune of 1.42 crore have been placed with domestic manufacturers and 80 lakh PPEs are being imported. As of now, more than 17 lakh PPEs have been received, while an additional domestic supply would be more than 1.15 crore in the next two months.
Also, nine new laboratories for PPE testing have been added in the last 15 days, which includes Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences, Delhi; Aerial Delivery Research and Development Establishment, Agra and six labs of Ordinance Factory Board. The Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO), interestingly, has developed three types of new PU coated nylons and has transferred the technology to domestic manufacturers. Now India is second only to China in manufacturing PPEs.
The government is also trying to improve the availability of N-95 masks. The total projected demand of N-95 masks till June has been estimated to be 2.72 crore. The government has issued orders to the tune of 2.49 crore have already been placed, of which orders for 1.49 crore have been placed with domestic manufacturers while about 1 crore masks are being imported. There are four major domestic manufacturers in the country and more are in line, which have been identified and facilitated.
At present, the daily domestic production is about 2.30 lakh. So far, about 49 lakh N 95 masks have been received. Additional domestic supply would be more than 1.40 crore in the next two months.
Official sources said the country has sufficient quantities of HCQ, which has been found to be “effective” in the treatment of Covid-19 patients. The domestic manufacturing capacity of HCQ has been enhanced by 150%. That means production of HCQ has been increased from about 12 crore tablets to 30 crore tablets per month now. About 16 crore HCQ tablets have been supplied to Central and state institutions and pharmacies against a requirement of 2.5 crore. Thus, India is not only able to meet its own demand for HCQ, but also help other countries.
After securing the availability of HCQ, the government is taking all steps to procure medical equipment. A senior official said emphasis is being given on procuring them from domestic manufacturers. As a result, domestic production of PPEs has enhanced to 1.87 lakh per day from nil initially, whereas that of N-95 masks enhanced from nil to 2.30 lakh per day.
As per details provided by the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, there is a projected demand of 75,000 ventilators till June. Against this projected demand, there are 19,400 ventilators available. Orders for 60,884 ventilators have been placed by HLL Lifecare Limited, a PSU under the aegis of the Health Ministry, which is acting as the Central procurement agency. The major domestic players are Bharat Electronics Limited (in collaboration with Skanray), to whom orders for 30,000 ventilators have been placed; AgVa (in collaboration with M/s Maruti Suzuki Limited), to whom orders for 10,000 ventilators have been awarded; and AMTZ (AP Medtech Zone) to whom orders for 13,500 ventilators have been placed.
Regarding oxygen and oxygen cylinders, the Ministry says the country is self-sufficient. The total manufacturing capacity of oxygen is 6,400 MT, of which around 1,000 MT is used for medical oxygen. There are five big and 600 small manufacturers of oxygen, while about 409 hospitals have their own oxygen generation. There are about 1,050 cryogenic tankers in the country.
As per information, about 4.38 lakh medical oxygen cylinders are available for supply. Additionally, orders for 1.03 lakh new medical oxygen cylinders have been placed. Five lakh industrial oxygen cylinders have also been identified for conversion, if required. Besides, the government has also ordered the conversion of 60,000 cylinders.
As for PPEs, against the projected demand of around 2 crore PPEs, orders have been placed for more than 2.2 crore PPEs, said Ministry officials. Earlier, there was not any domestic manufacturer. But now there are 111 indigenous manufacturers, from whom orders for more than 1.4 crore PPEs have been placed. From a production capacity of around 3,300 COVID-19 PPEs per day in March end, within a month, India’s capacity has now been augmented to 1.8 lakh PPEs per day and very soon it will be above 2 lakh per day. The total projected demand of PPE kits till June 2020 has been estimated to be 2.01 crore. The government has issued orders to the tune of 2.22 crore, of which orders to the tune of 1.42 crore have been placed with domestic manufacturers and 80 lakh PPEs are being imported. As of now, more than 17 lakh PPEs have been received, while an additional domestic supply would be more than 1.15 crore in the next two months.
Also, nine new laboratories for PPE testing have been added in the last 15 days, which includes Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences, Delhi; Aerial Delivery Research and Development Establishment, Agra and six labs of Ordinance Factory Board. The Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO), interestingly, has developed three types of new PU coated nylons and has transferred the technology to domestic manufacturers. Now India is second only to China in manufacturing PPEs.
The government is also trying to improve the availability of N-95 masks. The total projected demand of N-95 masks till June has been estimated to be 2.72 crore. The government has issued orders to the tune of 2.49 crore have already been placed, of which orders for 1.49 crore have been placed with domestic manufacturers while about 1 crore masks are being imported. There are four major domestic manufacturers in the country and more are in line, which have been identified and facilitated.
At present, the daily domestic production is about 2.30 lakh. So far, about 49 lakh N 95 masks have been received. Additional domestic supply would be more than 1.40 crore in the next two months.
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