23L PPE exported to 5 nations in 1 month

New Delhi: In a major push to the government's 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' campaign, India exported 23 lakh personal protection equipment (PPE) kits to five countries in one month, positioning itself as a key player for Covid-19 related medical supplies to the global market. The PPEs were exported to the US, UK, UAE, Senegal and Slovenia in July, the health ministry said on Friday.
"This has substantially aided India to position itself in the global export market of PPEs," said the government, adding that at the start of the pandemic, there was a global shortage of all kinds of medical equipment, including N95 masks, PPE kits and ventilators.
While India had to initially import PPE kits to combat the pandemic, local manufacturing of the kits started around February-March and soon picked up pace to cater to local demands, though companies had to deal with quality issues to begin with.
Currently, India is meeting its requirement for these products through indigenous production. Between March and August, the Centre distributed 1.28 crore PPE kits to the states and Union Territories free of cost, while the states directly procured an additional 1.4 crore PPEs using their budgetary resources.
Over the last few months, ministries of health, textile, pharmaceuticals besides department for promotion of industry and internal trade, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and others have come together to ramp up the manufacturing capacity of crucial medical supplies to deal with Covid-19.
Amid rising global demand for these products due to the pandemic and their scarcity in the foreign markets, India used the opportunity to not only be self-reliant but also grab a share of the global market, the government said.