New Delhi: In view of rising oxygen demand across the country, the central government today launched ‘Project O2 for India’ to augment the country’s ability to meet this rise in demand for medical oxygen.
‘Project O2 for India’ under the Office of Principal Scientific Adviser is aimed at enabling the production and supply of medical oxygen and expanding the national supply of critical raw material and setting up small oxygen plants.
The project is to enable stakeholders working to augment the country’s ability to meet this rise in demand for medical oxygen, an official statement said.
Under Project O2 for India, a National Consortium of Oxygen is enabling the national level supply of critical raw materials such as zeolites, setting up of small oxygen plants, manufacturing compressors, final products, i.e., oxygen plants, concentrators, and ventilators.
The consortium is not only looking forward to providing immediate to short-term relief but also working to strengthen the manufacturing ecosystem for long-term preparedness, the statement said.
A committee of experts has been evaluating critical equipment such as oxygen plants, concentrators, and ventilators, from a pool of India-based manufacturers, start-ups, and MSMEs (in partnership with FICCI,MESA, etc.).
The manufacturing and supply consortium also includes Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL); TataConsulting Engineers (TCE); C-CAMP, Bengaluru; IIT Kanpur (IIT-K); IIT Delhi (IIT-D);IIT Bombay (IIT-B), IIT Hyderabad (IIT-H); IISER, Bhopal;Venture Center, Pune; and more than 40 MSMEs, it said.
The consortium has started to secure CSR/philanthropic grants from organizations like USAID, Edwards Life sciences Foundation, Climate Works Foundation, etc.
Hope Foundation, American Indian Foundation, Walmart, Hitachi, BNP Paribas, and eInfoChips are procuring oxygen concentrators and VPSA/PSA plants as part of their CSR efforts to aid the consortium’s work.
NMDC Ltd has agreed to fund the procurement of raw materials like zeolite for the manufacturers in the consortium, the statement read.
