India is ramping up efforts to accelerate procurement of oxygen-related equipment to deal with the surge in demand for medical-grade oxygen amid the raging Covid-19 pandemic across the country.
Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla on Thursday said
India is looking at getting around 550 oxygen generating plants, 4,000 oxygen concentrators and 10,000 oxygen cylinders from abroad to deal with the coronavirus pandemic.
The foreign secretary further said that India is also looking at procuring 400,000 units of Remdesivir medicine from Egypt besides exploring to get it from countries like the United Arab Emirates, Bangladesh and Uzbekistan.
Over 40 countries have come forward so far to offer assistance to India to help in view of the unprecedented situation, Shringla said at a media briefing here.
The Government has been majorly focusing on procuring oxygen generators, concentrators, oxygen cylinders, cryogenic tankers as well as liquid oxygen, he said.
The medical supplies are being sourced through direct procurement and other modes.Two special aircraft carrying large amounts of medical supplies from the US are expected to reach India by Friday and another one is likely in the next few days, he further said.
Amid the devastating second wave of coronavirus pandemic and the resultant surge in cases a host of countries around the world have announced sending medical supplies to tide over the crisis.
