The Centre said that out of the 60,000 ventilators that will be procured, 50,000 are being funded by the PM Cares fund. (Representational)
Almost six months into the pandemic, the country has witnessed a significant shift in the manufacturing of ventilators, with the share of domestically manufactured ventilators currently more than 96 per cent by volume and 90 per cent by value, the Centre said on Tuesday.
Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan also highlighted the significant rise in domestic share has also resulted in a drop in the procurement price due to competitive pricing of domestic ventilators that currently range between Rs 1.5 lakh to Rs 4 lakh per unit as compared to imported ventilators that cost around Rs 10-20 lakh.
However, the Centre emphasised that only 0.27 per cent of the total active cases were on ventilators across the country. “At no point, the country has reached the one percent mark on patients being put on ventilators,” Bhushan said.
According to the official data, more than 1,8000 ventilators have been supplied to various Central and state government Covid-19 facilities across 700 hospitals. The Centre said that out of the 60,000 ventilators that will be procured, 50,000 are being funded by the PM Cares fund.
“The domestic capacity of manufacturing ventilators was insignificant. In 2019, the Indian ventilators market was roughly 8,510 units and its annual value was Rs 444 crore; 75 per cent of the market share of ventilators in India was with imported equipment… There was an exponential demand in March and export restrictions in many ventilator producing countries,” Bhushan said.
“…In March…in India, even those who were manufacturing the ventilators, were importing components… four months backs we were dependent on ventilators that cost Rs 10-20 lakh. Now the country’s entrepreneurs and innovators, have not only started producing the components but manufacturing the ventilators… out of the 60,000 ventilators that are now being procured, Make in India ventilators share is 96 per cent by volume and 90 per cent by value,” he said.
Meanwhile, the government said that 36 WhatsApp groups have been created, one group for each state and Union territory, consisting of doctors, suppliers, and government officials for handholding and resolving any issue arising out of the use of the ventilators.