Over 36K ventilators delivered to hospitals amid COVID-19: Health Ministry
(Sourced from PTI)
The Health Ministry said on Thursday that it had ensured delivery of 36,433 ventilators to government hospitals in the country and the average cost now ranges between Rs. 2-10 lakh as the domestic industry took up the manufacturing of the equipment. In less than 12 months, "Make in India" ventilators have been supplied to all the public health facilities, it said in a statement.
The Ministry underlined that all public health facilities in the country had only around 16,000 ventilators from the independence till pre-COVID times. All export restrictions on ventilators have now been removed and "Make in India" ventilators are being exported, the Ministry added. "At the beginning of the pandemic, India was almost totally dependent on imported ventilators, PPE kits, and N-95 masks," it said.
In the case of personal protective equipment (PPE), India has now become the world's second-largest manufacturer with a production capacity of more than 10 lakh PPE coveralls per day, which are also exported to several countries, the Ministry added. There are already nearly 1,700 indigenous manufacturers and suppliers registered on the government e-marketplace, with dozens certified by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS).
Nearly 1.7 crore lakh PPE kits have been distributed free of cost to the states, Union territories, and central institutions. The buffer stock of PPE kits available in the country has grown from about two lakh in March to more than 89 lakh at present. The average price has come down from Rs. 600 to about Rs. 200 per kit.
As per the Ministry, suppliers of N-95 masks have risen from three to over 3,000 manufacturers and suppliers, which, including 1,509 BIS-certified ones, are registered on the government portal. The domestic production capacity has risen to more than eight lakh per day. The masks are also being exported from India. More than four crore masks have been distributed for free to various Indian states.
The buffer stock of N-95 masks has risen from about nine lakh in March to about 1.46 crore at present. The average prices have dropped from Rs. 40 to Rs. 12 per mask. Meanwhile, the government has placed orders for nearly 83 crore syringes. Additional 35 crore syringes are to be procured for COVID-19 vaccination and also for the universal immunization program.
