New Delhi: India meets 70% of the world’s COVID vaccine requirements, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said in Parliament on Friday.
Responding to a question in the Lok Sabha on the coronavirus pandemic, he said that two COVID vaccines – Covaxin and ZyCoV-D – developed indigenously by Indian scientists and the other Kovishield developed by transfer of technology have been approved for emergency use.
He said that before Kovid, India used to import many types of equipment like N-95 masks, PPE kits, ventilators, but now the country has become their exporter.
Mandaviya said, “As of April 11, 2021, 20 plants manufacturing remdesivir in the country were producing 30,000 injections a month. We have helped manufacturing companies in the country with approvals to collect raw materials from across the world. “
While the number of these plants has increased from 20 to more than 60, the production capacity has increased to more than 10 lakhs in a month.
“The Prime Minister’s CARES Fund had approved setting up of 1,225 oxygen plants. These plants have been commissioned in all the states. Today, a total of 829 plants are in the process of being set up. Of these, more than 70 per cent are Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) plants. have been installed across the country.”
Regarding financial assistance to the states during the COVID pandemic, Mandaviya said: “In July 2021, while delivering the ECRP-II package, more than Rs 23,000 crore were made available to the states.
More than 800 pediatric units and at least Rs. One Center of Excellence in Pediatrics Under this, 42 such centers will be set up in each state and in total.