Spirit of America Donates 34 Oxygen Concentrators

 Spirit of America Donates 34 Oxygen Concentrators
to Rural Health Facilities in Tamil Nadu

 The US nonprofit delivers urgent assistance of 320 oxygen concentrators to strengthen COVID response to India’s community health centres and block and district health facilities in 28 Districts of 10 States. 

Spirit of America, a US-based nonprofit organization that engages citizens in strengthening relationships with friends, partners, and allies to preserve the promise of a free and better life, is delivering 34 oxygen concentrators to rural health facilities in Tamil Nadu.

In support of the U.S. Embassy New Delhi and in partnership with two global organizations — the International Association of Human Values (IAHV) and the American India Foundation (AIF) — Spirit of America is sending 320 oxygen concentrators to medical facilities on the front lines of the pandemic. These include 28 districts across 10 Indian states, listed below.

Specifically in Tamil Nadu, IAHV has facilitated these oxygen concentrators to the Govt. Hospitals, Covid Care Centres and Community Health centres in Cuddalore, Dindigul, Mannachanallur, Natrampalli, Thanjavur (Papanasam), Trichy, Tiruvannamalai and Virudhunagar.

This assistance is made possible by a generous personal donation from Fred Khosravi, Chairman and CEO of Imperative Care, on behalf of its employees. Imperative Care is a medical device company that is developing the next generation of stroke care across the entire patient journey. Khosravi also serves on Spirit of America’s Board of Directors.    

    “As a company, we’re committed to creating immediate enhancements to patients’ lives,” said Khosravi. “There’s an urgent need in India and we can build on this commitment by helping to meet those unmet needs of physicians and their patients. We sincerely hope this contribution will play a role in alleviating the immense and ongoing suffering in India due to COVID.”

 This contribution will add to the recently announced package to strengthen health infrastructure amid the second phase of the COVID-19 pandemic by the new cabinet of the government. The donation will also enhance the ability of rural health centres to care for COVID patients as India prepares for a third wave of the coronavirus.

 “India is a key strategic partner of the United States, and partners stand by one another in times of need. Spirit of America is eager to provide this critical assistance and demonstrate our steadfast support to the people of India,” said Jim Hake, CEO of Spirit of America.

 The districts that have received the concentrators across the 10 states are:

District	State
Naharlagun	Arunachal Pradesh
Aurangabad, Gaya, Bhagalpur, Aurangabad West, Champaran, Madhepura	Bihar
Hassan	Karnataka
Ernakulam	Kerala
Lunglei	Mizoram
Balasore, Kalahandi, Bhadrak	Odisha
Cuddalore, Tiruvannamalai, Trichy, Virudhunagar, Thanjavur, Papanasam, Natrampalli, Dindigul, Mannachanallur	Tamil Nadu
Bhadradri, Nalgonda, Suryapet, Khammam, Nagarkurnool	Telangana
Khumulwng	Tripura
Sant Kabir Nagar, Kanpur Nagar	Uttar Pradesh

Chief Minister Shri B.S. Yediyurappa Thanks GiveIndia for

 Chief Minister Shri B.S. Yediyurappa Thanks GiveIndia for 

its Contribution to Karnataka’s Fight Against Covid-19

 

Atul Satija, CEO, GiveIndia hands over 750 Oxygen Concentrators to the state government

 

Chief Minister of Karnataka Shri B.S. Yediyurappa acknowledged GiveIndia for its contribution to the state in its fight against COVID-19 at a felicitating event at the Chief Minister’s home office Krishna on July 5, 2001. GiveIndia CEO Atul Satija handed over 750 oxygen concentrators (OCs) to the state government on the occasion. This is besides the 2,000+ OCs that GiveIndia has already supplied in the state.

 

Dr. Ashwathnarayan C. N., Deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka, Dr. Shalini Rajesh, Additional Chief Secretary at Planning Department, Government of Karnataka, and Dr. Beloor Raghavendra, Chairperson, Karnataka State Handicrafts Development Corporation were also present during the occasion.

GiveIndia, the largest and most trusted giving platform in India today, has been working closely with the Government of Karnataka in its Covid-related activities in the state including healthcare services, humanitarian assistance, and setting up of Covid Care Centers (CCC).

As the second wave of Covid-19 raged, GiveIndia, with the help of Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), set up three covid care centres at Uttarahalli, Anjanapura  and Kalyan Nagar in Bengaluru providing 125 beds to augment government efforts in providing high-quality healthcare access to the citizens of Bengaluru.

Working closely with its partners, GiveIndia has delivered 2,000+ 5LPM and 10LPM Oxygen Concentrators (OCs) to government hospitals and NGOs across the state. More than 20 districts of the state have been served, including Chamarajanagar, Mysuru, Dharwad, Haveri, Yadgir and Bengaluru Rural.

 

Besides oxygen and healthcare infrastructure, with the help of partners, GiveIndia has provided humanitarian aid such as food to low-income communities and cash relief to families of Covid-deceased. GiveIndia is partnering with the state government and local bodies for the training of nurses, paramedics, and community health workers to accelerate vaccinations in rural areas, especially in aspirational districts.

Appreciating GiveIndia’s efforts at the felicitating event, Chief Minister Shri B.S. Yediyurappa said, "For holistic development of the state, partnership with organizations like GiveIndia is very essential. We are thankful to GiveIndia for all the support extended to Government of Karnataka towards Covid care."

 

Speaking about GiveIndia and its contribution to Karnataka, Shri Atul Satija, CEO of GiveIndia said, “We are happy to support the Government of Karnataka in partnership with various nonprofits to augment the healthcare infrastructure and help alleviate the Covid-19 crisis across the state. Besides medical infrastructure, we have reached out to the pandemic-affected people in both urban and rural areas of the state through our humanitarian efforts in the form of ration kits and meals, and cash relief."

People of Tanjore & Puthukkottai need Oxygen Concentrators

The people of Tanjore and Puthukkottai need oxygen concentrators and ambulance services as there is very limited to access medical amenities and huge shortage of oxygen in the hospitals here.

In collaboration with crowdfunding platform, Tamil television celebrities Amit Bhargav and Sriranjani are doing a fundraiser to buy oxygen concentrators and increase ambulance services.

Mr.Amit is a celebrity actor doing a few projects with Zee Tamil currently. Amit's wife Mrs.Sriranjani is a singer, anchor, and an artist in the Tamil cine industry. The couple launched a fundraiser through crowdfunding platform with the help of Mr.Nimal Raghavan who is an environmentalist in Tanjore.

Nimal Raghavan along with other local volunteers, has been contributing to a lot of relief measures and field work for the welfare of the people of the Delta region since 2018.  More than 4000 families were given food and other essentials for 15 days during the first wave of COVID-19 thanks to Nimal and his team. His support for this fundraiser is tremendous and he is collaborating with the local officials to ensure the oxygen concentrators reach the hospitals that need them the most.

With the funds collected to date as part of the fundraiser launched by Amit, Sriranjani, and Nimal, they have been able to buy 5 oxygen concentrators and they are given to the hospitals in Peravurani, Pattukkottai, Aranthangi, and Alangudi. We need a minimum of at least 16 more concentrators to be able to save the lives of the people of Tanjore. We need help in this regard.

Link to contribute : https://milaap.org/fundraisers/support-help-needy-and-poor-people-covid-patient-oxygen-concentrators

O2forIndia initiative by

 O2forIndia initiative by Ola Foundation now in Chennai

 

Free access and delivery of oxygen concentrators at the doorstep for home-isolation Covid-19 patients via Ola app

 

Ola Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Ola, has made its O2ForIndia initiative available in Chennai to provide free and easy access to oxygen concentrators for home isolation patients during this ongoing wave of COVID-19 infections.

 

The O2forIndia initiative received the support of Shri Gagandeep Singh Bedi, IAS, Commissioner,  Greater Chennai City Corporation, at an event in the city today.

The whole experience is set up to be seamless through the Ola app and is completely free, including the doorstep delivery and pick up. An initial about 500 concentrators have been made available and this will be scaled up as per need, with about 10,000 concentrators available across the country. Ola Foundation has partnered with GiveIndia for the O2forIndia initiative.

 

Under this initiative, caregivers and home-isolation patients can now place requests for oxygen concentrators through the Ola app itself by providing a few basic details. After submitting the necessary details, Ola will arrange for free home-delivery of the oxygen concentrator by specially trained personnel through Ola cabs. After the patient gets better and no longer requires oxygen support or is no longer in home isolation, Ola will arrange for the oxygen concentrator to be picked up and thereafter to be sterilised and ready for use by the next patient.

 

Ola COO Gaurav Porwal said, “There is an acute need for improved access to life saving equipment like oxygen concentrators as many are struggling to manage COVID-19 patients at home. Under our O2forIndia initiative, we hope to bring relief to the home-isolation patients in Chennai who need oxygen support”.

 

Ola stands committed to contributing to community efforts during this pandemic which requires all of us to join hands and fight this together.

Airbus expands India COVID-19 relief, delivers more

                                Airbus expands India COVID-19 relief,
                    delivers more oxygen plants, ventilators, mobile ICUs

 #Airbus #AirbusIndia #AirbusFoundation

Airbus has doubled down on its response to the COVID-19 crisis in India, delivering more than 36 tonnes of additional medical equipment to the Indian Red Cross Society (IRCS) and deploying humanitarian flights to move supplies from abroad as well as within the country.

Airbus is delivering oxygen plants, ventilators, oxygen concentrators, BPAP breathing machines and mobile intensive care units (ICUs), further boosting its individual contribution to the global humanitarian effort to tackle the second wave of COVID-19 infection in India. An A350 test aircraft delivered a part of the consignment comprising oxygen concentrators and ventilators from Airbus’ headquarters in Toulouse, France, on Wednesday. The remaining materials are sourced from India. 

The latest mission is Airbus’ second tranche of support to the country. The Company has already contributed with funds to a consolidated response coordinated by the French embassy in India, which included the delivery of eight large oxygen generators, ventilators, electric syringe pumps, anti-bacterial filters and patient circuits as part of a 28-tonne consignment. Much of the equipment has been deployed, and it is helping save hundreds of lives across India.

“Airbus stands behind India in solidarity and service. Our focus is to support not only our employees, customers, and partners but also as many people of India as we can,” said Rémi Maillard, President and MD of Airbus India & South Asia. “This is our common fight against the virus and we at Airbus are committed to doing our best to help in these challenging times for India and the world.”

The latest contribution from Airbus comprises two oxygen generator plants, 250 oxygen concentrators, 30 ventilators, 100 BPAP breathing machines and four ICUs-on-wheels. Airbus is working with the Indian government and the IRCS, the nodal agency for handling of international aid, to ensure the smooth deployment of the materials.

Additionally, the Airbus Foundation is in touch with international and Indian NGO partners to support any need for transportation of relief materials from Europe. Airbus Foundation has also secured helicopter flight hours to move aid within India.

“The crisis is still unfolding. Its fallout will have to be managed over the coming many months,” Maillard said.

“Our Indian NGO partners are already evaluating the knock-on impact of the crisis on livelihoods and children’s education. Airbus will expand support to them to meet the additional challenges.” 

Pernod Ricard India Is Investing INR 50+ Crores In

 Pernod Ricard India Is Investing INR 50+ Crores In Healthcare For COVID-19 Support And Beyond

Amid the brutal second wave of COVID-19, Pernod Ricard India is rapidly scaling up its support to augment the government’s efforts to provide affected citizens with timely access to quality healthcare. Pernod Ricard India has earmarked INR 50 crores in healthcare for COVID-19 support and beyond, since the beginning of the pandemic. More than 18 crores have already been deployed since March 2020. Till date, PRI has supported the strengthening of critical care support infrastructure in public hospitals, with 100+ Intensive Care Ventilators, 105 HFNC (High Flow Nasal Cannulas) 140 Intensive Care Unit (ICU) beds, 35 Multi Para Monitors, along with preventive healthcare support for personal & public hygiene with sanitizers, and masks across 17 states for Frontline COVID warriors like the Punjab Police Personnel, Indian Navy & Air Force (CSD), State Health Departments and Truck Drivers.

Mr. Thibault Cuny, Managing Director, Pernod Ricard India, and CEO, Pernod Ricard South Asia, said “The second wave of COVID-19 has impacted India in an inconceivable way, making it important for people across the community to come together. We are battling a situation we have never seen before and we salute the efforts our frontline workers, doctors, medical professions have shown. Pernod Ricard India has in the past risen to the needs of the nation, and we are committed to support the immediate emergency services needed to combat the crisis. We hope that our contribution will help our people in these challenging time as we explore other significant mediums to support our country.”

The Oxygen Crisis of 2021 has affected millions of citizens, and PRI has further stepped its efforts by helping set up (Pressure Swing Adsorption) PSA units in large multi-specialty government hospitals. 8 PSA unit are being set up in hospitals; 5 in Uttar Pradesh, 1 at PGIMS Rohtak, 1 at Nashik, and 1 donated through the French government.

Pernod Ricard India has also supported setting up isolation wards, +350 Oxygen concentrators through the state health departments along with BIPAP machines and HFNCs across the country ensuring that more and more people get access to care when needed.

Since the first COVID-19 wave, 14 Mobile health Vans, 4 Ambulances have been serving the affected during these crisis times, taking care of primary healthcare needs of 2,81,700 community members. Over the next 3 years, the Mobile health Vans, ambulances will continue to reach out to more than 600 villages a year, providing access to quality healthcare and free medicines to those who have emerged victorious in their fight against the virus but still have residual effects and augment the vaccination efforts in rural India.

 “The battle with COVID-19 is a challenging one, particularly for rural India, and that’s where the healthcare system will need the maximum support. Over the next 3 years, the Mobile Health Vans, ambulances will continue to reach out to more than 600 villages each year, providing doorstep access to quality primary healthcare, free medicines and accurate information to the rural poor; especially the women, children, elderly, persons with disabilities and those who may have emerged victorious in their fight against the virus but will need long term recovery support. The vans will also aid the local healthcare centers in scaling up the community vaccination efforts in rural India,” said further Mr. Thibault Cuny, Managing Director, Pernod Ricard India, and CEO, Pernod Ricard South Asia.

Sembcorp provides oxygen concentrators to

 Sembcorp provides oxygen concentrators to help fight COVID-19

 Partners with KVN Foundation to provide 400+ concentrators for homebound patients

 With the number of cases of COVID on the rise, Sembcorp is committed to assist in this humanitarian crisis. Sembcorp has donated more than 400 critical medical oxygen concentrators to KVN Foundation, a non-profit organisation, to help meet the oxygen requirement for homebound COVID patients.

 These concentrators will take us a step closer to bridging the gap of essential medical oxygen. These oxygen concentrators will be made available free of cost to patients directly in their homes, by Bangalore based NGO KVN Foundation, thereby helping reduce the burden on our healthcare system.

This donation is part of ongoing efforts by Sembcorp in India to support the communities we serve, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Since last year, Sembcorp has provided essential medical equipment, including tele-intensive care unit, ICU ventilators, haematology analysers, RT PCR system, antigen kits, ELISA (Enzymes Linked Immune Sorbent Assay) testing machines, face masks, sanitisers and food items. As preventive measures to create awareness, it also organised local community campaigns to emphasise social distancing, wearing masks and maintaining good hygiene practices.

For media queries please contact:

Sourav Das (Mr)

Vice President

Corporate Communications

Sembcorp Energy India Limited

Mob: +91 9910377455

Email: sourav.das@sembcorp.com 2

OPPO India donates 1000 oxygen concentrators to

 OPPO India donates 1000 oxygen concentrators to various cities in Uttar Pradesh

Helping India stay strong in the battle against the second wave of COVID 19, OPPO India has distributed 1000 oxygen concentrators across various hospitals in cities like Lucknow, Gautam Buddha Nagar, Ghaziabad, Hapur, Meerut, Baghpat, Bulandshahar, Shamli, and Agra to support the covid relief measures.

 Commenting on the initiative, Mr. Damyant Singh Khanoria , CMO, OPPO India, said, “The current time is a reminder for all of us to stand united and fight this together. This is a small step from OPPO India in this bigger battle of overcoming such testing times by supporting our community in every possible way. OPPO stands with India and will continue supporting it in overcoming this adversity. “

 

Thanking OPPO India, Mr. Arvind Kumar, Additional Chief Secretary, Govt of Uttar Pradesh said, “We are thankful to OPPO India for extending their support to the state of Uttar Pradesh. Each and every contribution is important in our battle towards COVID 19 and the efforts made by OPPO will go a long way in saving multiple valuable lives across the different cities in the state.”

Further, expressing their gratitude to the frontline workers for their relentless service, the brand has also donated 5300 OPPO Band Style to front-line warriors of the Delhi Police, Greater Noida Authority, and Cyberabad Police. 

In addition to the contributions towards society, OPPO India has also made efforts to encourage their customers to practice the precautionary lockdown enforced in different regions of the country. The brand announced the extension of the repair warranty of all of its products until 30^th June 2021 applicable to products whose warranty expires during the lockdown period. The scheme is applicable across product categories including smartphones and accessories such as chargers, data cable, and earphones.

The OPPO aftersales customer service support is providing all its users the best remote support in this difficult time through a dedicated AI-powered Chatbot called ‘Ollie’ that is available 24X7 for consumers to resolve 94.5% of their queries. The brand's human chat support on WhatsApp is also available to support customers 24X7 in resolving their queries. Along with 24X7 customer service, the brand has also announced home delivery of OPPO products with a simple text on the WhatsApp application. Customers can order any OPPO product with just one WhatsApp text stating the name of the state along with Pincode on +91-9871502777 and receive a call back from the nearest retail stores.

Additionally, in 2020 OPPO India donated Rs 1 crore to Prime Minister's National Relief Fund and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister's Distress Fund to fight the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Greenko Group airlifts first consignment of

 Greenko Group airlifts first consignment of 1000
large medical grade oxygen concentrators

Hyderabad-based Greenko group, India’s largest renewable energy company has unlocked global supply chain network to bring in critical oxygen support systems to India while putting in best efforts to deliver mission critical oxygen domestically at the earliest time. Its first of the five dedicated cargo planes are landing in Hyderabad today with 200 large medical grade Oxygen concentrators with 10 liters per minute capacity to aid in India’s fight against the deadly second wave of infections.

Hon. Minister Shri K.T.Rama Rao , Minister of Municipal Administration and Urban Development, Industries and IT E&C of Telangana , along with Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar received the flight on behalf of the state government. Greenko Co-Founders, Mr. Anil Chalamalasetty, and Mr. Mahesh Kolli were also present at the airport for this maiden arrival of the cargo flight.

Revealing Greenko Group’s plans, Mr. Anil Chalamalasetty, MD & CEO Greenko group said to reporters at the airport today, “This is first of the five dedicated cargo planes we are bringing in through the strong global supply chains that we have set-up in the last two weeks. Within the next 5 days, four more dedicated aircrafts will land in Hyderabad, Bengaluru and New Delhi with 1,000 such large medical grade oxygen concentrators. This will aid our medical teams in tier 2 and tier 3 cities for pre-ICU support and post-ICU stabilization of patients and help combat the second wave of CoViD that has put severe strain on our healthcare infrastructure and support systems. We will continue our work to help the country and aid the efforts to fight the pandemic and have India again breathe freely.”

Hon. Minister Shri K.T.Rama Rao thanked Greenko founders for their effort, and said, “Our first priority as government as business leaders and as responsible citizens is to provide relief to the patients and avert this oxygen crisis as prudently and judiciously as we can. We are indeed grateful to the Greenko group for helping us in these efforts.” 

In addition, 1000 large oxygen cylinders of 50 liters capacity each are in transit from Middle East to be delivered in the coming week to India. These systems will be deployed as stationary units in existing hospitals, healthcare units and mobile units to cater to the additional case load of oxygen deprived patients.

Greenko Group, one of the largest clean energy companies in India, is focused on establishing reliable and medium-term supply chains quickly by navigating the diplomatic, geopolitical and logistical channels so as to ensure continuous supply of essentials including oxygen concentrators, oxygen cylinders to multiple states in India.

“As a country, we have been fortunate to receive critical monetary and non-monetary support as aid / donations, but we need to focus on establishing strong robust supply chains for mission critical equipment and supplies locally and globally. These supply chains that we at Greenko Group have established are capable of delivering 5,000 plus concentrators and cylinders continually which will hopefully help India in fighting the pandemic and breathe freely again,” added Mr. Anil Chalamalasetty

Prestige Group leads from the forefront with its

            Prestige Group leads from the forefront with its COVID-19 relief measures

 Highlights:

·        Prestige Foundation contributes over INR 2 crores towards covid relief measures

·        Equipped an additional wing of Vimalalaya Hospital and contributed to setting up a 24 bed ICU facility at the HBS hospital

·        Prestige Foundation has also facilitated donation of 25 oxygen concentrators to private hospital by United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)

·        Successfully vaccinated over 1000 employees and frontline workers

·        Provided meals and ration to 20,000 + daily wage workers, underprivileged children in Bengaluru

·        Deployed 24x7 ambulance service, Covert Frontline team for round the clock assistance and 50 Oxygen Concentrators

·        Extended relief measures to Prestige Property residents and aids Kodagu Institute of Medical Sciences

As India continues to face the ongoing impact of the pandemic, more and more corporates are pledging their support through their contributions towards the nation’s battle with it. Prestige Foundation, the CSR Division of Prestige Group, that ensures to undertake every opportunity towards the upliftment of the society, came forward with their re-engineered efforts towards Covid relief measures. Since April 2021 till date, the foundation has donated over two crore funds to benefit those in immediate need.

The Foundation has further equipped an additional wing of Vimalalaya Hospital in Electronic City, an establishment run by the congregation of FIH sisters (Franciscan Sisters of Immaculate Heart of Mary) and offers affordable healthcare, with 24 general ward beds, medical equipment such as ventilators, oxygen tanks, bed monitors, a 450-litre liquid oxygen cylinder, bypass machines and injection pumps. Furthermore, contributed to setting up a 24 bed ICU facility at the HBS hospital through Rotary Bangalore Midtown and ventilators and oxygen concentrators for Kodagu Institute of Medical Science’s patients.

In addition, Prestige Foundation is not only advocating/promoting the urgent need to get vaccinated, but also aiding and facilitating its property residents across Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad by hosting vaccination drives and inoculating its members. So far, the Group has successfully vaccinated over 1000 employees and frontline workers with the help of the BBMP, Lions Club and Private Hospitals. They will continue to vaccinate as and when supplies are restocked and made available. The vaccinations drive extends to cover daily wage construction workers across all the sites as well.

Since the onset of the lockdown in April this year, the Foundation has distributed over 20,000 ration kits( each kit providing a monthly sustenance for a family of 4) in the inner most areas of Bangalore such as Bytranapura, Hebbal, Kempapura, Nagawara, Pulakeshinagar, Govindpura, Shampur, Shivajinagar, Ulsoor, Bharathinagar, Siddapura, Lakksandra, Byrasandra, Gurupanpalya, Jayanagar, Chamarajpet, City Market, Whitefield, Varthur & Hoskote.

In preparation for any medical requirement, Prestige Foundation created two make-shift isolation centres for its employees of Property Management Services, an extension of Prestige Properties with 20 and 30 beds who earlier lived in shared accommodation. In order to avoid commuting, comprehensive    boarding    &    lodging arrangements were made for safer recovery of critical staff at construction sites itself.

The Covert Support Team ensures relentless and free of cost assistance such as procuring oxygen supply and concentrators, on call ambulance & on call doctor on driver duty. The Foundation has procured over 50 oxygen concentrators that can be used by employees and their families, and for residents across their properties. Prestige Foundation has also facilitated donation of 25 oxygen concentrators to private hospital by United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), a member of the International Humanitarian City, Dubai.

The employees are additionally provided end-to-end assistance with courier services including essential services delivery at their doorsteps. In the unfortunate occurrence an employee's demise arrested by the pandemic, the group has instated a policy which supports the education of the late employee’s children.

Commenting on the situation, Mr. Irfan Razack, CMD, Prestige Group said, “We are immensely grateful and deeply appreciate the unrelenting & compassionate efforts by the frontline workers, medical staff in the current challenging scenario. In an attempt to equip and ensure the welfare of the community amidst the prolonged pandemic, we have undertaken adequate measures which fulfils our responsibility towards our extended family. It is the opportune time to leverage one’s resources optimally and provide support to all those in need for a healthy future.”

Bhubaneswar Airport ensures seamless delivery of

 

            Bhubaneswar Airport ensures seamless delivery of                 medical essentials to support the fight against Covid-19

             Total 156 empty oxygen tankers, 526 oxygen                         concentrators and 140 oxygen cylinders transported

Covid vaccination camp organized

     Everyday country's airports are transporting medical essential and equipment across the country to strengthen nation’s fight against COVID19. AAI`s Bhubaneswar Airport and its stakeholders have also been playing an active role by facilitating seamless transportation of medical equipment and materials 24x7.

A total 669 boxes (20.53 MT) of Covid Vaccine have been transported through various airlines till 09^th May 2021 through the Bhubaneswar Airport. To overcome the oxygen crisis for the country, a total of 156 empty oxygen tankers, 526 oxygen concentrators, 140 oxygen cylinders were transported by 75 Indian Airforce aircraft like C17, C130J, AN 32 from 23^rd April 2021 to 11^th May 2021. 41 pieces of oxygen concentrator were transported through various airlines also. Transportation of 3500 pieces of 10 Litre Seamless Cylinder and 1520 pieces of 46.7 L seamless cylinders are in pipeline and the consignment is expected within a week from foreign countries.

 

Apart from this, Bhubaneswar Airport is also following all the COVID19 related guidelines and protocols as per the instructions of Central and State Governments to ensure a safe journey for passengers. The airport staff makes continuous requests to all the passengers, stakeholders, visitors, employees etc. to always follow COVID appropriate behaviour and maintain staggered timing to minimise crowding. To create awareness regarding COVID appropriate behaviour, ensuring safety of passengers, the airport is also displaying instructions through several electronic and permanent displays at the terminal.

All Airports are trying and joining every battle they can. Bhubaneswar Airport has also organised Covid vaccination camp for employees of AAI and other stakeholders in collaboration and with support from Government of Odisha, taking all safety measures into consideration.

Ministry of Commerce & Industry Centre undertakes multiple initiatives to

                                        Centre undertakes multiple initiatives to enhance
                            Oxygen availability, distributionand storage infrastructure;

Oxygen availability increased through higher production and imports, setting up of PSA Plants, and Procurement of Oxygen Concentrators;

Oxygen Tanker availability strengthened by Conversion of Nitrogen and Argon Tankers, Import, Domestic Manufacturing, and Rail and Air Transportation;

Oxygen Digital Tracking System setup for real time monitoring;

Last mile infrastructure strengthened by increasing number & capacity of Cryogenic Tankers at Hospitals and procurement of MedicalOxygen;

General Financial Rules relaxed to fast-track procurement of critical supplies.

In order to address the surge in demand for oxygen, the Central Government has undertakenkey measures to increase the availability, streamline the distribution and strengthen the oxygen storage infrastructure in the country. The steps undertaken focused on the entire oxygen supply chain. These include efforts for improving oxygen production, enhancing tanker availability to optimizelogistics, improving oxygen storage at thelast mile, and easing norms of procurement.

Oxygen availability has been enhanced by increase in Production Capacity and production, setting up of Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) Plants, import of Liquid Medical Oxygen (LMO)from Overseas, and Procurement of Oxygen Concentrators. For enhancing tanker availability to streamline transportation, Nitrogen and Argon tankers have been converted, tankers and containers have been imported, domestic manufacturing of tankersincreased, andrail and air transportation of tankers is being undertaken to reduce turn-around time.Oxygen Digital Tracking System (ODTS) has been setup of for real time monitoring, and driver availability is being enhanced with training of MHV drivers. For improving oxygen storage, number & capacity of cryogenic tankers at hospitals is being enhanced andMedicalOxygen cylinders are being procured.Relaxation of General Financial Rules (GFR) has been undertaken to enable faster procurement of critical supplies. The details regarding the measures undertaken by the Central Government on all fronts of the oxygen production, transportation, storage and infrastructure are as given hereunder.

Increase in Oxygen Production and Capacity Enhancement

Oxygen production has increased from 5700 MT/day in Aug’20 to 9,446 MT/day in May’21. The production capacity has increased from 6817 MT/ day to 7314 MT/day, and capacity utilization has gone up from 84% to 129% during this period

 Steel companies from both the public and private sectors, have stepped up efforts to meet the nation’s requirement of medical oxygen. On 4^th May, 2021, the Total Liquid Medical Oxygen Production by the Steel plants was 3680.30 MT. The total LMO Supply per day was up from an average 1500-1700 MT in mid-April to 3131.84 MT on 25^thApril, and further to4076.65 MT on 4^th May.

Commensurate with the increase in production and demand, LMO sale in the country has also increased from about 1,300 MT/day in March’ 21 to 8,920 MT/day on 6^th May.During the first wave of COVID-19, the maximum sale of 3095 MT/day of LMO was seen on 29^th September, 2020. The sale of LMO grew more than five-fold from 1559 MT/day on March 31, 2021 to over 8000 MT mark by 3^rd May, 2021.

Oxygen Production Capacity Enhancement Plans

Additional capacity expansion is planned in the near future to enhance oxygen production capacity. The measures in this regard include additional 70 MT/day production expected in Karnataka; Supplies from Air Separation Unitof SME sector; Jumbo Hospitals with gaseous oxygen from refineries(11,950 beds), power plants (3,850 beds), and steel plants (8,100 beds) are being set up. Supply of oxygen for non-essential industrial purposes has been prohibited w.e.f. 22^nd April, 2021, resulting in ~1,000 MT of additional oxygen availability. Additional capacity expansion of 630 MT/day is also planned by Steel sector.

1,594 PSA Plants are being established to improve Oxygen Supply near demand clusters.  It includes 162 plants under PM-Cares through MoHFW sanctioned in 2020, 551 under PM-Cares through MoHFW sanctioned in March 2021, 500 under PM-Cares through DRDO sanctioned on 27 Apr 2021, about 100 by Oil and Gas companies under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, and rest by States themselves. 74 of the 162 PSA plants have been installed and the rest will be installed by June’21. 1,051 additional PSA Plants sanctioned under PM Cares Fund in March & April’21 will be commissioned in the next three months in phases.

Import of Liquid Medical Oxygen

50,000 MT of Liquid Oxygen is being imported from overseas, with orders and delivery schedule for 5,800 MT finalized. Ministry of External Affairs is actively assisting in securing sources of oxygen from abroad. To expedite the process, quotations were obtained on 21.04.21. 3 quotations have been received for 3,500 MT and approved on 21.04.21 with delivery over 3 months. In addition, 2285 MT of LMO being imported from UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait and France, a part of which has already arrived.

Procurement of Oxygen Concentrators

Procurement of 1 lakh Oxygen Concentrators has been sanctioned under PM Cares Fund on 27.04.2021. Expression of Interest was issued on 29.04.21 and Offer has been receivedfor 2,500 units. There has been good response to the tender floated by ONGC. Offers for 50,000 concentrators have been received from domestic manufacturers. Award for 9,800 units have been finalized with delivery schedule of 4,800 units on 15.05.21 and 5,000 units on 27.05.21. In addition, 55 bidders have expressed interest to supply 70,000 – 75,000 units of concentrators. Orders are being finalized and will be placed based on promised delivery schedule.

Oxygen Allocation Process

Oxygen Allocation process has been established to equitably supply oxygen to all states in line with the demand.First oxygen allocation order issued on 15.04.21 was restricted to a few states like Maharashtra, Gujarat, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, etc.As the second wave of pandemic spread to other states, demand for Oxygen increased from other states. The formula of Ministry of Health and Family Welfare was used to estimate Oxygen requirement for each state in line with the active cases in the state, and maximum efforts were made to align Oxygen Allocation to the estimated demand for each state. Other factors such as availability of hospital infrastructure including ICU beds were also taken into account while finalizing allocation.

Oxygen Allocation process has continuously evolved to streamline the distribution of Oxygen in the country. Oxygen allocation to States/UTs is dynamic in nature,based on requirement as per Health Ministry norms, and consultation with States/UTs, manufacturers & other stakeholders. There is a mismatch between producing and consuming states, and equity among states to be maintained. Moreover, one-third of the production is concentrated in East India, while the ~60% of demand for oxygen is in North and South India, resulting in transportation challenges. Mapping of source and destination of oxygen has been completed to optimize transportation plan in consultation with States/UTs, manufacturers & other stakeholders.

Zone	Production		Allocation
	MT	%	MT	%
North	1,174	13%	2,897	33%
East	2,867	32%	1,035	12%
West	2,838	32%	2,688	30%
South	1,980	22%	2,239	25%
Total	8,859	100%	8,859	100%

 

Enhancing Oxygen Tanker Availability – Conversion & Import of Tankers

Multiple interventions have been undertaken to improve tanker availability. Availability of Oxygen Tankers has been improved with conversion of Nitrogen & Argon Tankers &their Imports. In March 2020, the capacity of tankers was 12,480 MT and their number was 1040. Now, the capacity of tankers has gone up to 23,056 MT and their number has increased to 1681, which includes 408 converted tankers and 101 imported tankers. 408 out of the 1,105 Nitrogen and Argon Tankers have been converted into oxygen carrying tankers so far; and another 200 tankers will be converted shortly. 248 oxygen tankers are being imported, with 101 tankers imported so far and another 58 tankers to be imported in next 10 days; In addition, 100 tankers are being manufactured domestically.

Oxygen Tankers being transported by Rail and Air to reduce turnaround time

Railways are being used for long distance transport of tankers through Roll on – Roll Off service. So far, Indian Railways has delivered nearly 4200 MT of LMO in more than 268 tankers to various states across the country.68 Oxygen Expresses have already completed their journey so far.Till the evening of 9^th May,293MT has been offloaded in Maharashtra; 1,230 MT in UP; 271 MT in MP; 555 MT in Haryana; 123 MT in Telangana; 40 MT in Rajasthan; and 1,679 MT in Delhi.

Air-lifting of empty tankersis being done to plants to reduce the turnaround time. 282 tankers with 5505 MT capacity have been airlifted, transporting LMO in domestic routes. 75 containers with capacity 1293 MT have been imported from overseas through IAF. In addition, 1252 oxygen cylinders, 3 oxygen generation plantshave been imported through IAF.

Oxygen Digital Tracking System

A Web and App based Oxygen Digital Tracking System (ODTS) has been launched to enable real time tracking of Oxygen movement in the country. Its objectives are effective and instantaneous communication of allocation orders to plants and dispatches from plants, and toenable real-time tracking of Oxygen movement in the country from Plants to States. It integrates with GSTN database for E-waybill based data entry, Tracking of tankers through GPS, SIM (Driver Mobile No.), FASTag, and Automated alerts from system for route deviation, unintended stoppages, delays

Besides, aVirtual Central Control Roomhas been establishedwith officers from Additional / Joint secretary officers of Health, Road, Rail, Industry, Steel and from State Govt. The Control Room is monitoring Oxygen movement 24 X 7 and to resolve any issues in oxygen transportation.

Training Drivers for Driving Oxygen Tankers

2,500 additional drivers are being trained to drive oxygen tankers by National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) and Logistics Sector Skill Council (LSSC). Availability of skilled drivers is essential to ensure uninterrupted transportation of Oxygen. Since LMO Transportation is covered under Hazardous Chemicals regulations, drivers with adequate training and having HAZ Cargo license only are allowed to operate the trucks. Immediate focus is to make Training module has been developed by NSDC and LSSC in English and Hindi &20 master trainers identified. Online Refresher coursesareplanned for non-active drivers with training in handling HAZ chemicals. 73 locations have beenidentified for organizing physical training programs for drivers along with oxygen plants.

Enhancing Storage of Oxygen – Cryogenic Tanks

Number of cryogenic tanks for storing oxygen at hospital has increased to 901 from 609 since March 2020. Availability of medical oxygen cylinders has increased from 4.35 Lakhs in March 2020 to 11.19 Lakh in May 21. Additional, 3.35 Lakh cylinders are being procured in line with estimated increase in demand. Orders have been placed for additional 1,27,000 cylinders on 21.04.21. DRDO is procuring 10,00,000 NRM valves under PM Cares Fund - this device will reduce wastage of oxygen by shutting out the supply during exhalation. 

Measures to expedite procurement of critical supplies

To expedite procurement of critical supplies, General Financial Rules(GFR)have been relaxed to enable expedited procurement of critical supplies for COVID Management. All restrictive provisions have been removed to enable larger participation and faster procurement. Bank Guarantees have been waived off for all procurement. 100% payment of advance has been approved for critical COVID procurement. Procurement on nomination basishas been permitted in case of constrained supply market.

YB/SS