MSME Ministry to entrepreneurs: Inform govt if you are dealing with products required to fight coronavirus
The Ministry of MSME has issued a notification asking all business entrepreneurs and suppliers to inform the government if they are dealing with items required for fighting coronavirus. It has issued a list of 39 items in medical supplies and 62 items in auxiliary supplies.
Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), Government of India, has issued a notification asking all business entrepreneurs and suppliers to inform the government whether they are dealing with essential items required for fighting coronavirus outbreak.
The MSME ministry has issued a list of 39 items in medical supplies and 62 items in auxiliary supplies.
The notification also states that all the manufacturers and suppliers who deal with the listed items can inform the state government/UT of the state/UT or register as supplier in Government e Market Place (GeM).
The list of items in medical supplies includes ventilators, alcohol-based hand rub, face shield, protective gowns/aprons, IV fluids, glucometer with strips, oxygen cylinders, biohazard bags, wheel chairs, medicine, among many others.
In auxiliary items, the government is looking out for manufacturers or suppliers of soaps, candles, matches, extension boards, mattresses, tool sets, whistles, blankets, mosquito repellents, diapers, steel utensils, etc. To know about other listed items, click on the official notification here.
In the latest release, the Central government has also asked automobile manufacturers to use their facilities to make ventilators to boost the country's capacity of making such machines in view of a spike in COVID-19 cases in the country.
It also said that the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) will begin manufacturing 20,000 N-95 masks per day from the next week.
According to the Health Ministry, over 14,000 existing ventilators are earmarked for COVID-19 patients in various hospitals in the country, while there are 11.95 lakh N-95 masks in stock.
Besides, the ministry has asked the Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), a public sector undertaking under the Ministry of Defence, to manufacture 30,000 ventilators in the next two months in collaboration with local manufacturers.
Among the private players, Agva Healthcare, Noida, has been given an order to manufacture 10,000 ventilators within a month. Their supplies are expected to commence in the second week of April, the ministry said in another tweet.
Two domestic manufacturers are producing 50,000 N-95 masks per day. This is expected to go up to one lakh per day within next week, it said.
Pandemic coronavirus cases have climbed to 1,077 across India, while the death toll rose to 29, according to the Health Ministry.
(Edited by Javed Gaihlot)