Gujarat ventilators fail clinical trial

Centre gave Rs 8-crore advance for ventilators from Rajkot company that was already mired in controversy over its devices; removes it from list after machines fail evaluation, reveals health ministry’s response to RTI request

Ventilators from a Gujarat- based firm failed a clinical evaluation by the Health Ministry’s technical committee, revealed information accessed through the Right to Information Act. Jyoti CNC Automation from Gujarat was one of the two fi rms that had already received Rs 22.5 crore in advance payment for indigenously manufactured ventilators in May for Covid-19 treatment funded by PM-CARES. However, by July, it was dropped from the list, according to the Ministry’s response to an RTI request fi led by activist Anjali Bhardwaj.

The firm became the centre of controversy in May after Ahmedabad Civil Hospital Chief Medical Officer wrote to the state government’s medical services provider, saying that they were “not able to bring desired results” according to the head of the anaesthesia department.

However, despite the controversial and doubtful performance of Dhaman-1 ventilators, the Centre placed an order for ventilators from Jyoti CNC. The RTI revealed that ventilators from Jyoti CNC and Andhra Pradesh MedTech Zone (AMTZ) were not included in the list of recommended suppliers following clinical evaluation, according to the Health ministry’s July 20 response.

So, even though the firm reportedly received an advance payment from the health ministry in May, their ventilators had not been installed in hospitals across the country till July. Meanwhile, following clinical evaluation, the reduction in list of manufacturers has reportedly cut down the PM CARES order for ‘Made in India’ ventilators from 58,850 units to 40,000. These ventilators range from Rs 1.6 lakh to Rs 8.6 lakh per unit

Jyoti CNC Automation reportedly received Rs 8-crore advance for 5,000 units costing Rs 121 crore.

When Mirror spoke to Jyoti CNC CMD Parakramsinh Jadeja, he said, “Wait and watch, the truth will come out. I am not aware of any such clinical evaluation. We are under process of developing our machines.”


Refusing to comment on the purchase order, he said, “If you want to know the real success of our ventilators, check with doctors that are using them. Those doctors will tell you the real story.” Highly placed sources in the government said, “The health committee conducted iterations for different ventilator models supplied by manufacturers and suggested modifications. Jyoti CNC was asked to make modifications, too.”

Health Commissioner Jaiprakash Shivhare told Mirror, “We are using Dhaman ventilators. However, I am not aware of what happened in Delhi. I will be able to give specifics of where they are used only on Monday.” He refused to divulge any more information.

Questioning PM-CARES fund transaction, Gujarat Congress President Amit Chavda said, “How was an advance of Rs 8 crore for Rs 120-crore contract given without trial or without certification? People donated in the pandemic not to help BJP earn friends.”