8 mln personal protective kits, 1000 ventilators coming from China, says Indian Envoy

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The Indian government is ramping up testing across the country and the Indian Embassy in China is playing a critical role in that.

India on Thursday received 6.5 lakh testing kits from Chinese suppliers and now, an even larger consignment is on its way.

Speaking exclusively to CNBC-TV18, Indian Envoy to China, Vikram Misri said that India is set to receive 2 million more testing kits from China in the next 8-10 days. He said, “We have facilitated contracts for 7-8 million Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)  kits and 1000 ventilators. Shipping of more medical equipment from China will begin this week. The Indian embassy is negotiating contracts for another 8-10 million PPE kits”.

The government has set up an empowered committee for procurement of critical medical equipment. The committee is in touch with several Indian mission for identification of suppliers, negotiation of contracts and early delivery of equipment. India is sourcing equipment not just from China but from South Korea, US, UK, Canada, Germany and Japan as well.

Recent reports have raised doubts about the quality of medical equipment coming from China. According to a BBC report, several European countries and Turkey have rejected Chinese medical equipment as it was either below standards or defective.

Misri said that while there may be issues with goods being imported by private entities, the Indian government has put in place several quality checks. “The government has ensured quality due to a number of filters. India is insisting on inspection of equipment by independent companies like Bureau Veritas. We are doing thorough checks of companies before recommending them to the government”, he said.

He said that Chinese authorities themselves were concerned about quality of products being exported. “China has now prescribed a national list of manufacturers allowed to export. They have now added another quality check by putting goods through customs inspection at the point of export”, he said.

Misri said that Indian supply chains from China are normalising, with China having managed to supress this phase of the pandemic. The envoy said that India-China trade negotiation mechanisms have not been operational due to the pandemic. “India will be taking up trade issues in the coming months. We will resume negotiations on RCEP with China once the crisis is behind us”, he said.

The diplomat said that India and China have not yet started collaborating on vaccine development, though that is a possible area of cooperation.

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow