Bids invited for 2 crore indigenous masks, 50 lakh RT-PCR kits

NEW DELHI: The central procurement agency HLL Lifecare Limited (HLL) has invited online bids for supply of personal protection equipment, viral transport and detection kits.
The bid document lists a tentative annual requirement of 2 crore 3 ply masks, 50 lakh real time RT-PCR kits, 1 lakh pulse oximeters, 1 crore bottles of different quantities of hand sanitisers, 50 lakh Viral Transport Medium kits and 50 lakh Viral Lysis Transport Medium kits, 50 lakh RNA extraction kits and 50,000 dead body covers.
The tender document was floated by HLL on June 23 and the last date for filing bids is June 30. The date of opening of e-tender is July 1.
The finalised bidders will have to enter into a rate contract for 12 months. The products offered in the tender must be only manufactured in India and relevant manufacturing licenses along with product list will have to be submitted by applicants. The bid document makes it clear that suppliers must ensure strict compliance to all statutory regulations and quality standards.
HLL is the procuring agency of the ministry of health and family welfare. It has been procuring PPE coveralls from manufacturers/suppliers after getting them tested and approved by one of the labs nominated by the government for testing the same. Further, HLL has also been undertaking random sampling of the supplies being made, for which a testing protocol has been devised. In case of any failure, the company is being disqualified for any supplies.
Meanwhile, as part of its efforts to scale up Covid-19 testing, particularly through rapid antigen kits, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) on Thursday invited applications for validation of such detection kits from all manufacturers who have developed them.