The Ministry of Home Affairs on Tuesday informed that one lakh oxygen concentrators are being procured under the PM Cares Fund. It also shared details of additional provisions being made for liquid medical oxygen amidst a surge in coronavirus cases.
“One lakh O2 concentrators being procured under PM Cares Fund. 5,805 MT Liquid Medical Oxygen being imported. 374 tankers with 7,049 MT capacity airlifted in the country. 81 containers with 1,407 MT imported through IAF. 157 Oxygen special trains to transport 637 LMO tankers,” news agency ANI quoted the home ministry as saying.
Additional measures to enhance oxygen availability include:
- 630 MT/day production capacity by Steel sector
- 663 MT/day from Air Separation Units (ASUs) of SME sector
- Jumbo Hospitals (12.469 beds) being set up with gaseous oxygen from Refineries 8 Power plants and Steel Plants P
- One lakh Oxygen Concentrators being procured under PM Cares Fund
- Supply of oxygen for non-essential industrial purposes prohibited w.e.t. 22/04/2021, resulting in around 1.000 MT of additional oxygen availability
About 5,805 MT liquid oxygen is currently being imported, including 3440 MT from UAE, 1505 MT from Kuwait, 600 MT from France, 200 MT from Singapore and 60 MT from France. A fast track system is also in place to import oxygen from whereever supply is available.
Earlier today, BJP leader Meenakashi Lekhi said that the Delhi government did not buy any new ventilators last year and is using those delivered through the PM-CARES Fund.
“If you talk about ICU beds in Delhi, they haven’t increased them at all. The (AAP) government is using the ventilators given through the PM-CARES Fund. It did not buy a single new ventilator last year,” she claimed.
