New Delhi (NVI): The Union Health Ministry delivered 36,433 ventilators to government hospitals in all States and Union Territories across the country in the past nine months, to meet the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic in this year, according to an official statement.
The average cost of ventilators in India between February-March was Rs 15 lakh but now the cost ranges between Rs 2 to Rs 10 lakhs, due to the Indian industry taking up manufacturing of ventilators, the Ministry of Health said in a statement.
“The Central government recognised the challenges posed by the pandemic in the very initial stages and successfully ensured more than adequate availability and supplies of essential medical items across the country,” it said.
The ministry informed that all the public health facilities in the country had only about 16,000 ventilators from independence of the country till pre-COVID times. “But in less than 12 months, 36,433 ‘Make in India’ ventilators have been supplied to all the public health facilities,” it said.
At the beginning of the pandemic, India was almost totally dependent on imported Ventilators, PPE Kits and N-95 Masks. There were, in fact, no standard specifications for these products which are essential in the fight against the pandemic.
In addition to this, from a miniscule domestic production capacity in March, India has now become the world’s second largest manufacturer with a production capacity of more than 10 lakh PPE coveralls per day, the ministry said.
Moreover, there are already nearly 1,700 indigenous manufacturers and suppliers and about 170 lakh PPE kits have been distributed free of cost to the States and Union Territories (UTs) and Central Institutions.
The buffer stock of PPE kits available with the Central and State governments has grown from about 2 lakh in March to more than 89 lakh at present. The average price has come down substantially from nearly Rs 600 to about Rs 200 per kit in 9 months.
Similarly, till March 2020 there were only 3 suppliers of N-95 masks with a modest production capacity of less than 1 lakh masks per day.
“At present, there are more than 3,000 manufacturers and the domestic production capacity has risen to over 8 lakh N-95 masks per day. These are also being exported from India in large quantities,” the statement noted.
More than 4 crore N-95 masks have so far been distributed free of cost to various States, UTs and Central Institutions. The average prices have dropped from about Rs 40 to Rs.12 per mask during the same period
Furthermore, the government has already placed orders for procurement of nearly 83 crore syringes. “Additionally, bids have also been invited for nearly 35 crore syringes, which will be used for COVID-19 vaccination and also for the Universal Immunization Programme,” the ministry added.
-RJV/ARK
