Within a span of two months since the coronavirus outbreak, India, which was previously not producing any Personal Protective Equipment(PPE) kits, has now attained a surreal feat of making 2.06 lakh PPE kits daily. In the highest single-day production in the country, around 2.06 lakh kits were produced on Saturday, May 2.
On average, 1.5 lakh kits are produced daily in India.
A senior Health Ministry official told ANI, ‘It is very comforting to us that our in-house PPE kit production is increasing fast. On May 2, the country recorded maximum production of protective gears of about 2.06 lakh manufactured in a single day.’
‘Earlier, there was no domestic manufacturing of PPE kit in the country and almost all of them were imported. Within a short time, India has been able to increase the daily production of PPE kits to about 1.5 lakh,’ he added.
‘In January, there were only 2.75 lakh PPE kits (imported ones) available in the country. As of today, we have about 15.96 lakh PPE kits in the centre-state buffer stock,’ the official further said.
A PPE kit includes a mask, eye shield, shoe cover, gown and gloves. The kits are given to the frontline workers – the doctors and healthcare workers – who are treating the communicable COVID-19 disease.
There are at least 110 government identified domestic PPE manufacturers in the country. Some of these include Alok Industries, JCT Phagwara, Gokaldas Exports, Aditya Birla, etc.
‘As of now, the Central government has distributed about 21.32 lakh PPE kits to the Centre and state-run hospitals. At least 15.96 lakh PPE kits are in the Centre-State buffer stock,’ the Union Health Ministry official said.
Some government institutes like South India Textile Research Association (SITRA) and Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO) are in the vanguard of manufacturing new technologies, materials and testing facilities. DRDO has already developed a new PU coated nylon/polyester for supply to domestic manufacturers.
