Coronavirus: Gujarat govt ropes in pvt firms to manufacture PPE, N95 masks

The Gujarat government has roped in state-based private companies to manufacture personal protective equipment and N95 masks required by health staff who are at the forefront of the battle against coronavirus.

A private company from the state has already manufactured low-cost ventilators and will be supplying them soon to government-run hospitals, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani said a few days back.

The state government feels it will be better prepared to fight the disease if local manufacturers provide such vital equipment, chief minister's secretary Ashwani Kumar said on Monday.

"Chief Minister Rupani has called upon industries of the state for local production of items essential to tackle the viral infection," Kumar said.

As part of the initiative, the Rajkot-based Jyoti CNC has started production of ventilators after getting necessary approvals, he said.

"Two other companies - Arvind Mills in Ahmedabad and Sure Safety in Vadodara - will soon start production of personal protective equipment (PPE)," he said.

The state government got technology transferred from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur for N95 masks, he said, adding that Ahmedabad-based Cellulose Products will manufacture 25,000 such masks per day.

Both the PPE and N95 masks are very useful in protecting the medical staff who are on the frontline of the fight against coronavirus, the official said.

Rupani recently announced that private company Jyoti CNC has developed low-cost ventilators and it will provide 1,000 such machines to the state-run hospitals soon.

"When we have the talent and the industry which can produce equipment required to fight the coronavirus, we should encourage local production," he had said.