Currently, healthcare and related workers all over the world carry a significant risk of coronavirus infection and in addition to the impact, these workers also pose a transmission risk to their patients and family. Thus, maintaining and managing good health of these workers during this COVID-19 pandemic is crucial and research has shown that the use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) along with proper training can actually combat this viral infection burden majorly. Adequate PPE kit supplies have been the subject of critical attention worldwide and on that note, India has become the second-largest PPE kit manufacturer in the world owing to the hard work of several PPE kit online suppliers throughout the pandemic.
According to a news article by Times of India, published on 5th May, India had achieved an awesome feat of producing 1.5 lakh PPE kits/day on an average and on May 2nd, the production count had reached a huge 2.06 lakhs/day. The report also said that there was a lump sum count of 15.96 lakh PPE kits in the centre-state buffer stock and will be sufficiently increasing. In a more recent tweet, Union Minister Smriti Irani confirmed the expectations by saying that as of 18th May report, India now produces around 4.5 lakh PPE kits/day by surpassing its previous count. Earlier, there was no prior domestic manufacturing of PPE kits and the equipment had to be imported but the COVID-19 situation has made India come forward magnificently to manufacture and export PPE kits to the whole world in the fight against coronavirus.
The govt. has currently declared certifications for around 600 domestic companies for making PPE kits in India and several of them are currently in the full-time manufacturing process of PPE kits. According to latest reports, the centre had ordered 2.22 crore PPE kits and 1.43 core kits in that demand list will be made by Indian domestic manufacturers. Besides delivering to the centre, domestic MAKE IN INDIA companies is also targeting the global market with their ‘good quality at an affordable price’ motto for enhancing India’s economy. Companies like Advancells Group, Alok Industries, Aditya Birla, JCT Phagwara etc. are working very hard to aid this supply by manufacturing govt. certified PPE kits and related coronavirus protection kits for helping the world with health and safety against this pandemic, and govt. institutes like Defence Research & Development Organization (DRDO) and South India Textile Research Association (SITRA) are helping them by being at the forefront of developing new scientific technologies and testing facilities related to the PPE kit manufacturing.
In a recent statement, Dr KS Sundararaman, Chairman, Indian Technical Textiles Association (ITTA) clearly said that this is the best period for India to capture the business opportunity besides supporting the global health crisis of coronavirus, as a strong anti-China sourcing sentiment is currently underway. The high manufacturing count of PPE kits during the COVID-19 pandemic can ensure a vibrant global market for India’s economy and at the same time can help the health workers worldwide maintain their safety and prevention. Thus the inevitable question arises, “Will India become a global PPE Kit giant by 2021?”
