FFDC Kannauj steps up hand sanitiser production, supplies to hospitals, police, and railways to fight coronavirus

The coronavirus pandemic has claimed 339 deaths in the country so far with over 10,000 patients still undergoing treatment. The virus which was nascent till the third week of March entered stage two in April first week creating a daunting situation for the entire nation.

The government has taken several necessary measures - from imposing a nationwide lockdown to ensuring smooth supply of essential supplies and pharma products – to enable citizens to protect themselves from the deadly virus. 

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Hand sanitisers and masks are among the most essential items required in these trying times. 

With the outbreak of coronavirus, the demand for hand sanitisers has seen a multifold growth. People have started adopting precautionary measures in a big way to prevent contracting any disease. This sudden rise in demand made hand sanitisers go out of stock from the market. Consumers even started hoarding hand sanitisers as it has assumed the role of a ‘first-aid’ product, fearing non-availability in the market which in turn has spiked its prices. 

To prevent hoarding of hand sanitisers and to ensure smooth sales and availability for all, the government recently put a cap on the prices and encouraged the local manufacturers and suppliers to collaborate with the government to ensure smooth running supplies of these need-of-the-hour products in the market. 

This week Mandeep Kaur, Special Secretary and Joint Development Commissioner of the Ministry of MSME told SMBStory that the Fragrance and Flavour Development Centre (FFDC), Kannauj, has revamped its setup to produce hand sanitisers as per WHO guidelines to fight coronavirus. 

FFDC also released a statement on procurement of drug licence, alcohol licence, bottles and raw materials from Kanpur, and about designing labels to set up the production centre for hand sanitiser. 

It stated,

“It was dedicated work of the small team which worked day and night within the limited willing staff to make it possible. They cleaned the room, made arrangements working every day even up to late night. A great team spirit was shown where the official hierarchy was overtaken by patriotism to fight against coronavirus together.”

According to the released statement, the hand sanitiser produced by FFDC is a faster drying sanitising solution as compared to other sanitiser/disinfect. 

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Speaking to SMBStory, SV Shukla, Director of FFDC, says,

“As a service to the nation, the hand sanitisers are being produced with an aim to sell only to the government organisations. It is one of the cheapest among any commercially available brand, with less than half of the price cap of the government, costing around Rs 55 for a 250ml bottle (inclusive of GST).” 

So far, FFDC has produced and supplied 4,000 litres of hand sanitiser to CMO Kannauj, CMO Farrukhabad, Kannauj Police, Kanpur Police, and North Central Railways and plans to continue the production even post the coronavirus threat. 

“FFDC did not have a production facility. We are a development institute based out of a small district Kannauj, Uttar Pradesh, to serve, sustain and upgrade the status of farmers and the industry engaged in the aromatic cultivation and its processing. We set up the production unit in a room after procuring all the licences required and completing other formalities within eight days, and this is the silver lining in the dark clouds,” SV Shukla tells SMBStory.

He adds that when a small district like Kannauj can initiate steps to fight the pandemic, bigger towns and metro cities have much more potential. Post the crisis, FFDC plans to continue manufacturing hand sanitiser on a large scale and aims to provide technological and entrepreneurial training to the people who wish to be a part of this industry.