PM Cares Fund Trust has allocated Rs 2000 crore for supply of 50000 ‘Made-in-India’ ventilators to government-run Covid-19 hospitals in all States and UTs. Further, a sum of Rs 1000 crore has been allocated for migrant laborers’ welfare, according to the press release.
We have earlier published a story on ventilator production in India. Looking at the rising numbers, the concern remains, do we have enough ventilators to fight this pandemic? On 1 May 2020, PD Vaghela, chairman of the Empowered Group-3, stated in a press conference that as against the projected demand of 75,000 ventilators till June 2020, the availability was about 19,398. Orders for 60,884 ventilators had been placed by HLL Lifecare, a public sector unit under the aegis of the ministry of health and family welfare. Out of the total orders, 59,884 ventilators have been ordered from domestic manufacturers, and import orders make up the another 1,000 ventilators.
Out of the 50000 ventilators, 30000 ventilators are being manufactured by Bharat Electronics. The remaining 20000 ventilators are being manufactured by AgVa Healthcare (10000), AMTZ Basic (5650), AMTZ High End (4000), and Allied Medical (350). So far, 2923 ventilators have been manufactured, out of which 1340 ventilators have already been delivered to the States or UTs. The prominent recipients include Maharashtra (275), Delhi (275), Gujarat (175), Bihar (100), Karnataka (90), Rajasthan (75). By the end of June 2020, additional 14,000 ventilators will be delivered to all States or Uts.
Further, a sum of Rs 1000 crore has already been released to States or UTs for the welfare of the migrant laborer. The distribution of the fund is based on the formula of 50% weightage for the population as per the 2011 census, 40% weightage for the number of positive Covid-19 cases, and 10 % for equal distribution among all the States or UTs. This assistance is to be used for arranging accommodation, food, medical treatment and transportation of the migrants. The primary recipients of the grant are Maharashtra (181 crore), Uttar Pradesh (103 crore), Tamil Nadu (83 crore), Gujarat (66 crore), Delhi (55 crore), West Bengal (53 crore), Bihar (51 crore), Madhya Pradesh (50 crore), Rajasthan (50 crore) and Karnataka (34 crore).
