Indian envoys told to explore oxygen import | Economic Times

The Centre has asked Indian embassies to explore options on importing oxygen. A communication to this effect has been sent to Indian embassies in the US, UK, Germany, Japan, Italy and UAE, according to people in government.India’s current production of oxygen is 7,000 tonnes, which turned inadequate after the demand surged following the second wave of Covid-19. The demand was about 700 tonnes for the liquified gas per day till last year, when it rose to 2,800 tonne after the pandemic. Currently, it is well over 5,000 tonnes.The Centre had last week decided to import 50,000 tonnes of medical oxygen to address shortage in hospitals. “In view of increasing demand for medical oxygen, the government had decided to float a tender for import of 50,000 tonnes of medical oxygen”, which the health ministry was to finalise and “explore possible sources for import identified by missions of MEA”, the government had said in a statement last week.The issue of oxygen shortage was red flagged by the World Health Organisation in February when it set up a Covid-19 oxygen emergency taskforce to mobilise supply to countries faced with emergencies. WHO then estimated that more than half a million people in low and middle income countries needed 1.1 million cylinders of oxygen per day.Other steps of the Centre include limiting use of oxygen for industries and easing up supply chains. The Centre has also approved operationalising 162 pressure swing adsorption oxygen plants — spread over Bihar, Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Haryana, Kerala, Maharashtra, Puducherry, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh — which have a combined capacity of 15,419 tonnes.Two empowered groups related to Covid-19 response have been key drivers associated with decisions on oxygen. The groups have been holding meetings over the last few days to ramp up medical supplies. The demand for oxygen has been especially high in Maharashtra, Delhi, Gujarat, Punjab, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Haryana and Rajasthan.