News-Atmanirbhar Bharat
Atmanirbhar impact -23 lakh PPEs exported to 5 countries in July from India
By May, as per the government data, about 4.5 lakh PPEs were being produced every day in India.
India exported 23 lakh personal protective equipment, a key medical supply at the centre stage to deal with Covid-19 cases, to five countries last month, the Centre said on Friday.
These countries include the USA, UK, UAE, Senegal and Slovenia.
This has substantially aided India to position itself in the global export market of PPEs,” said the government, adding that at the start of the pandemic, there was a global shortage experienced for all kinds of medical equipment including N95 masks, PPE kits and ventilators.
In the early weeks and months of the pandemic, India imported PPE kits from abroad. Domestic manufacture only began around February, two months after the virus surfaced in China.
Over the last few months, the Union ministries of health & family welfare, textile, pharmaceuticals, department for the promotion of industry and internal trade, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), and others have come together to ramp up the manufacturing capacity of crucial medical supplies.
By May, as per the government data, about 4.5 lakh PPEs were being produced every day in India.
In view of the strengthened domestic production capacity and having met the domestic requirements for PPEs, the revised notification of the Director-General of Foreign Trade, in July, had permitted export of PPEs.
“Most of the products were not being manufactured in the country in the beginning as many of the necessary components were to be procured from other countries,” said the health ministry in a statement on Friday. “The rising global demand due to the pandemic resulted in their scarce availability in the foreign markets.”
So far, the Centre has distributed 1.28 crore PPEs to various states, Union Territories and central institutions, free of cost.
Courtesy – New Indian Express
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