Under the project, a National Consortium of Oxygen is enabling the national level supply of critical raw materials such as zeolites, setting up of small oxygen plants, manufacturing compressors, final products i.e., oxygen plants, concentrators, and ventilators, the government said. The second wave of covid-19 saw an increase in demand for medical oxygen in different parts of the country. While meeting the current demand, manufacturing medical oxygen also became important to ensure India has adequate supply in the future. The Office of PSA has also collaborated with Tata Projects Ltd to deploy modular hospitals at multiple sites in Punjab and Chhattisgarh. Several patients had harrowing times in procuring oxygen while many died due to lack of hospital beds, oxygen and medical treatment.

Source: Mint June 13, 2021 12:11 UTC