Medical Infra of 38 Institutions in 31 States Ramped up by Allocation of Global Covid-19 Supplies: Centre

The Centre in a statement on Tuesday said that 38 medical institutions across 31 states have benefitted due to the effective allocation of Covid-19 relief supplies from the global community.

“The global community has extended a helping hand in supporting efforts of Government of India in this collective fight against the global pandemic. Medical equipment, medicines, oxygen concentrators, ventilators etc., are being provided by many countries,” said the statement.

In addition to faster clearance, Indian customs has waived basic customs duty and health cess on goods identified for defending Covid. When imported free of cost and distributed freely, based on the state govt. certification, IGST is also waived. Further, for import of oxygen concentrators for personal use, IGST has been reduced from 28% to 12%.

A cell was created in the Ministry under Addl. Secretary [Health] to coordinate the receipt and allocation of foreign Covid-19 relief material as grants, aid and donations. This Cell started functioning on 26th April 2021 and comprises of one Joint Secretary on deputation from Ministry of Education, two Addl. Secretary level officers from MEA, Chief Commissioner Customs, Economic Advisor from Ministry of Civil Aviation, Technical Advisor Dte. GHS, Representatives from HLL, two Joint Secretaries from MoHFW and Secretary-General along with another representative from IRCS.

Major categories of equipment include BiPAP Machines, Oxygen (Oxygen Concentrators, Oxygen Cylinders, PSA Oxygen Plants, Pulse Oximeters), Drugs (Favipiravir and Remdesivir), PPE (Coveralls, N-95 masks and gowns),

The States/UTs which have either received or where the equipment has been dispatched are Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chandigarh, Chhattisgarh, D&N Haveli, Delhi, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, J&K, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Ladakh, Lakshadweep, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Odisha, Puducherry, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and West Bengal.

As the different tranches are coming in, the rest of the States and UTs will also be covered in the coming days., the Centre said.

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