“About 20 metric tonnes of capacity is available in industries, but they don’t have the licence to produce medical oxygen. Oxygen is distributed to private hospitals and nursing homes through a slew of refillers, who purchase liquid oxygen from bulk producers such as INOX Air Products Limited and National Oxygen Limited, he points out. The supply of liquid oxygen to the refillers has been cut down, resulting in a serious shortage of oxygen at private hospitals. A fraction can be converted into liquid medical oxygen, which all steel players are sending to the government and hospitals, he notes. “Licences are being given to them to make medical oxygen, and we are procuring from them.

Source: The Hindu April 25, 2021 20:12 UTC