Tag: ventilators

COVID-19 Outbreak: Indian govt ramps up efforts to augment supplies of protective gear & healthcare equipment

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

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

The Indian government has ramped up its efforts to augment supplies of protective-gear and healthcare equipment needed to prevent and treat cases of COVID-19.

The government is also working on scaling up imports of various essential items like masks, coveralls and other personal protective equipment (PPE).

On the coveralls, the government said that as of now 3.34 lakh coverall units are already available and another 3 lakh will come  by April 4, as way of international donations. The government has already received about 10,000 coveralls from Red Cross as donations.

The government has also outlined and identified 11 domestic producers of coveralls and have placed an order for 21 lakh units of coveralls. According to the government, the 11 domestic producers currently have a capacity of manufacturing about 6000-7000 coveralls and are expected to double their capacities in 10 days time.

The government had also floated a global tender a few days ago. It has now placed an order of 10 lakh PPE kits that have coveralls, gloves, protective glasses, goggles, and N95 masks through a Singapore based platform. An order of 20 lakh coveralls has also been placed with a South Korean firm.

As far as N95 masks are concerned, the government has said that about 12 lakh units are already available at government hospitals and they have been distributing about 6.4 lakh in the last 2 days. It has also ordered 2 domestic companies to produce about 50,000 masks per day. The companies are expected to double their capacity in a week’s time.

Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) will also begin to produce about 20,000 N99 masks per day in a week’s time.

According to reports, India will need about 1 million coverall and goggles, about 4 million masks, and about 6.2 million pieces of PPEs.

With regards to ventilators, India currently has about 40,000-50,000 ventilators and of that about 14,000 have been earmarked for COVID-19 patients. The health ministry has also placed an order for 10,000 ventilators with AgVa Healthcare which are likely to come in supply by second week of April.

Bharat Electronics has also been directed to manufacture 30,000 units of ventilators. Other auto companies have been requested to start manufacturing ventilators as well.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

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

COVID-19 impact: Most hospitals have inadequate personal protection equipment, says Max Healthcare

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

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

As the number of COVID-19 cases rise. Abhay Soi, Chairman of Max Healthcare discussing the increased load on hospitals as well as their preparedness to handle the same said, there is a short term, medium term, and a long term that is going to perhaps play out as far as the virus is concerned.

He said that there will be postponement of surgeries and medical tourism. “You are going to have postponement of elective surgeries and cancellation of international medical tourism. Essentially, we are going to have a situation where occupancies will go down to about 25-30 percent. That is because of the level of emergency admissions most hospitals have, be it government or private,” he said.

“At this point of time occupancy levels for most players have plummeted to about 40-45 percent and over the next few days I do estimate that going down to about 25-30 percent,” he said in an interview with CNBC-TV18.

However, he expects the occupancies to surge as COVID-19 cases increase. “Although business has been impacted, we have to gear up for higher level of operations. In the medium run, if the COVID-19 surge comes, we are going to have very high level of occupancies.

“And once that abates, and I hope over the short to medium run that should happen, you are going to have capacities perhaps come down for some time while COVID-19 is going out of the picture, and then suddenly surge because of a lot of the electives would form a part of the latent demand at that stage,” he added.

According to him, there is need to be infrastructure ready for COVID-19 patients. “Most of these are medical cases and so you do require a little more capacity as far as ventilators are concerned. Other than this, you need to create negative pressure rooms in ICUs. That can be done with a very small amount of tinkering as far as heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system and the mechanics are concerned,” he added.

However, there is a need for personal protection equipment (PPE). “We run 3500 beds, a 350 bed hospital will require about 20,000-25,000 personal protection gears in a month and that is a very large number. We will require about 2.5 lakh PPE and that is where the problem is because most players, be it the private sector or the public sector, their capacities or their stock of PPE at this stage is inadequate to vastly inadequate,” he said.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

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

COVID-19: Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai ready plans for testing kits and ventilators

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

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Days after the Centre reached out to automobile companies for help in making ventilators, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd (MSIL) and Hyundai Motor India have chalked out plans to help the government.

Maruti Suzuki has signed an agreement with AgVa Healthcare to rapidly scale up production of ventilators. AgVa Healthcare is an existing manufacturer of ventilators. Maruti plans to make ten thousand ventilators per month to help the government.

A Maruti spokesperson said, “AgVa Healthcare would be responsible for the technology, performance and related matters for all the ventilators produced and sold by them. MSIL would use its suppliers to produce the required volume of components and use its experience and knowledge to upgrade systems for the production and quality control of the higher volumes”.

The company would also help AgVa with financing and approvals needed for higher production.

Maruti has also roped in it’s joint venture companies to aid the government’s medical preparedness. Krishna Maruti Ltd would be manufacturing masks for supply to Haryana and central government. It’s chairman Ashok Kapur will provide two million masks free of cost, as his personal contribution. Another Maruti joint venture, Bharat Seats Ltd would be manufacturing protective clothing.

Hyundai India has placed an order for advanced diagnostic kits from South Korea which will serve over 25,000 people. The kits will be distributed to hospitals in consultation with state and Central governments.

SS Kim, managing director and chief executive officer, Hyundai Motor India said, “Hyundai as a responsible and caring brand has always been at the forefront in community services. As part of our global direction – ‘Progress for Humanity’, Hyundai is committed to support the Government of India’s spirited fight against the COVID-19 crisis. Our contribution towards supplies of advanced diagnostic testing kits will help over 25,000 people”.

Tata Motors has set up a team to look into the government’s demands for ventilators, masks and sanitizers. Mahindra and Mahindra is working on a ventilator prototype and has promised to make the design available to all after the approval process is over.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

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

Coronavirus crisis: Automobile firms rally to govt’s call for ventilators

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

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

A day after the government reached out to auto companies requesting them for help in making ventilators, the Mahindra group has set the process into motion.

MD and CEO of Mahindra Group Pawan Goenka tweeted, “We along with two large PSUs are working with an existing manufacturer of ventilators to help them simplify design and scale up capacity. Our engineering team is right now with them”.

Goenka said his team was working on an automated version of the big valve mask ventilator.

“We hope to have a prototype ready in three days for approval. Once proven this prototype will be made available to all for manufacturing.”

Anand Mahindra too spoke about the company’s efforts in making big valve mask ventilators. He said, “This could be a game changer in quickly providing large number of low cost life savers, particularly when ICU ventilators are still scarce”. Mahindra also lauded the company’s teams in Igatpuri and Kandivali who have been working for the last 48 hours on these devices.

Not just the Mahindra group, Tata Motors, Hyundai and Maruti have also set up teams drawn from different departments to respond to the government’s call. These vehicle makers are also exploring partnerships with existing manufacturers and PSUs to make ventilators on a large scale.

The Tata Group has setup an internal team drawn from different group companies. Sources told CNBC-TV18 the company is looking at all options, internal manufacturing and importing. An official said that the company was looking at the possibility of importing ventilators from China, as Europe and US are also looking to China to meet their demands.

Hyundai India’s corporate social responsibility team is also exploring various options to help the government ramp up medical preparedness.
CNBC-TV18 has learnt that the Maharashtra government has requested the industry for help in making 15000 ventilators. There are requests from different state governments as well.

Automobile companies and top officials from the Ministry of Heavy Industries and government is sharing BIS standards and specifications with companies who are keen to manufacture ventilators, masks and sanitizers.

Speaking to CNBC-TV18, Deepak Jain, president, Automotive Components Manufacturers Association, said, “Ventilators need an approved design, specifications and there is a testing protocol even if we take it up on priority. There are a few of us who have started looking at making masks and hand sanitizers and we will be reaching out to the Department of Heavy Industries to see how we can fast track this process. Manufacturing Ventilators is a long drawn out process and we are looking at the possibility of importing and donating them to the government”.

RC Bhargava, chairman, Maruti Suzuki, said that the company’s teams were working round the clock to see how the government’s need for ventilators can be addressed and they hope to have an answer in the next 48 hours.

Elsewhere, Fiat began converting one of its car plants in China to start making about one million masks a month and will start production shortly, according to a BBC news report.

In the US, General Motors, Ford and Tesla, and in the UK, Nissan and Formula 1 teams have offered resources to respective governments to make more ventilators.

On Tuesday, Ford said that it was working with 3M to manufacture at scale Powered Air-Purifying Respirators (PAPRs).

Also, it was working with GE Healthcare to expand production of a simplified version of GE Healthcare’s existing ventilator design.

“To go as fast as possible, the Ford and 3M teams have been resourcefully locating off-the-shelf parts like fans from the Ford F-150’s cooled seats for airflow, 3M HEPA air filters to filter airborne contaminants such as droplets that carry virus particles and portable tool battery packs to power these respirators for up to eight hours,” the Ford release said.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

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

Fight against COVID-19: Government seeks auto companies’ help for making ventilators

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

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

The Centre has started reaching out to top automobile manufacturers as well as auto parts companies seeking their help in ramping up production of ventilators and other medical gear that can help in fighting the spread of COVID-19.

Sources told CNBC-TV18 that the Ministry of Heavy Industries and Department of Pharmaceuticals have already reached out to companies like Maruti Suzuki, Mahindra and Mahindra, Tata Motors and Hyundai. More companies will be approached, the sources said.

Companies like Tata Group and M&M have already started doing the groundwork for making ventilators.

In an interview to CNBC-TV18, N Chadrasekaran, Chairman, Tata Sons said, “Tata Group is looking at setting up a plant to manufacture ventilators. We are working on this on priority. Tata Hospitals will add another one thousand beds soon”.

A Tata Group spokesperson did not elaborate on the company’s plan to setup a ventilator manufacturing unit.

Mahindra Group Chairman, Anand Mahindra recently said on Twitter, “To help in the response to this unprecedented threat, we at the Mahindra Group will immediately begin work on how our manufacturing facilities can make ventilators. At Mahindra Holidays, we stand ready to offer our resorts as temporary care facilities”.

While other OEMs are considering the possibility, they do feel that the time available is too short.

Speaking to CNBC TV18, RC Bhargava, Chairman Maruti Suzuki said, “The govt anticipates a need for a much larger number of ventilators. They have approached us about the possibility of making ventilators in house. A number of our teams are looking at the possibility. We will come up with an answer in a day or two. We have very limited time.”

Automobile industry bodies have been sounded out as well.

Vinnie Mehta, Director General of Automotive Components Manufacturers Association said, “The Secretary, Heavy Industries has reached out to ACMA on how the components industry can help in making masks, sanitizers, and ventilators”. Mehta said the association is discussing the matter internally and has sought more details from the government on specifications, prototype, and quantity of medical goods that are required.

The companies CNBC-TV18 spoke to felt that it may better to import such devices from countries like China which have ready stock.

AK Taneja, MD, Shriram Pistons and Rings said, “In the near term it may be more desirable to import ventilators, as the process of design, manufacturing, testing and approvals may take several weeks. We are working on a plan and are exploring the possibility of importing ventilators and donating to the government as part of our CSR contributions”

DPIIT Secretary Guruprasad Mohapatra told CNBC-TV18 on Wednesday, “Pharma department has made a list of all ventilator manufacturers in India. A group of joint secretaries also looking at ramping up ventilator production in India”.

Note: This story has been updated with quotes from Maruti Suzuki and Shriram Pistons and Rings

Track our full coverage of the cornavirus pandemic here. 

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

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

Focus is on ramping up ventilator manufacturing for coronavirus patients, says Skanray Technologies

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

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

The situation in countries worst-hit by coronavirus highlights the importance of medical devices, especially ventilators. So, what is the situation in India?Industry estimates suggest India currently has nearly 1 lakh ventilators. And sources suggest the shortage could be of around 70,000 as cases increase.

Bangalore based ventilator manufacturer, Skanray Technologies plans to make one lakh locally sourced ventilators in two to three months. Speaking to CNBC-TV18’s Shereen Bhan, Vishwaprasad Alva, Founder & MD at Skanray Tech said, “Currently we are making about 200 ventilators per month. We have two units that are capable of manufacturing ventilators – one in Mysore and another one in Italy. We currently have an order of 5000 ventilators and a requirement of 1,00,000 ventilators.”

“To ramp up from 200 to 5000, we have already taken action to take capacities from two other suppliers. We have also worked around certain imported components to be able to ramp up in case there is a shortage,” he said.

Globally, the medical equipment manufacturers are stressed because of the Covid-19 epidemic and most of the countries have banned export of ventilators. There are couple of components that are specific to the medical industry and we need to find equivalents from defence or aerospace that can take care of the requirements even though they are expensive,  he added.

“In a month’s time we will be able to get to 5000 ventilators. The Karnataka government has already placed the order. We have the Mysore administration and officials from the department of industries helping us to setup a supplier base and using the spare capacity of their ancillaries. There are some components that need to be airlifted from the supplier’s location. We are in touch with the Indian government to take help of the embassy to get the components directly to Mysore. Fortunately, in Mysore we have three other electronic assembly companies that can help us to ramp up to 5000 ventilators”, he further said.

“For the 1,00,000 ventilator plan, we are working at another design which is simpler to make and is adequate for the coronavirus patients. There are ICU ventilators and anaesthesia ventilators. Anaesthesia ventilators are easier to manufacture. We have about 350 design engineers globally and we have redeployed the R&D team from non-critical component design to ventilators. I think in a week’s time we will be turning around another ventilator that is easier to manufacture and which has lesser dependency on imported components”, Alva said.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

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

India could face severe shortage of ventilators in battle against coronavirus

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

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

As India begins a protracted battle against coronavirus, ventilators are emerging as one of the key medical devices that need to be used to treat severe cases of COVID-19. This testing time has highlighted the severe shortage of the respiratory device in India. Overall, India imports around 80-85 percent of all medical devices for intensive care, including ventilators and high-end diagnostic and robotic surgery instruments.

Sources within the medical devices industry have said that there are around 1 lakh ventilators in the country. According to medical experts, India needs around 2.1 ventilators per 10,000 patients to battle the COVID-19 crisis alone. A few large private hospitals have 80 to 100 ventilators in one city, but have stated that they were being used on existing critical care patients.

The number of ventilators available in various cities and states vary. For example, reports suggest that Mumbai alone has 800 to 1,000 ventilators, while states such as Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh have 1,500 and 1800, respectively.

The city of Bengaluru, according to the head of a top hospital chain, has approximately 400 ventilators, whereas the requirement is around 1,000. Experts now fear that there could be a severe shortage of ventilators in rural areas as most ICU beds are concentrated in urban areas. Hence, there is a pressing need to prevent COVID-19 from entering rural areas.

At present, ventilators are mainly imported, assembled in India or partially produced here. Experts suggest that India does not have a single indigenously manufactured ventilator as the companies that produce ventilators import some or many of their components.

Now, experts state that there is a shortage of around 70,000 ventilators in India and the short term supply requirement would be to procure around 4,000-5,000 ventilators per month.

Although demand from the government machinery has gone up, the industry is not equipped to meet the requirement. One of the key issues here is that the global supply of ventilators and spares have depleted. Each country is trying to conserve or build their own resources to meet the demand for ventilators. For example, India has banned the export of ventilators, while Germany is looking to ramp up supplies, as the latter looks to increase the number of ICU beds to 22,000 beds per 1 lakh units from the current 12,000. China is one of the few countries that is looking to supply components for ventilators to India, but logistics could be an issue due to the travel restrictions, industry sources said.

Homegrown companies like Bengaluru-based medical devices manufacturer Skanray Technologies have been asked to ramp up production. As per sources, the government of Karnataka has ordered for 1,000 ventilators and 5 lakh pieces of protective gear from the company.

While this is an opportunity for the company, Skanray could face supply chain issues as components for the final product are imported. Sources close to the company has said that there could be a possibility of Skanray manufacturing an improvised version of ventilators.

Although there is a real shortage of ventilators, the situation has sprung in some interesting developments. While Gujarat-based stent manufacturer SMT is looking at 3D manufacturing of ventilators, Mahindra Group is believed to be working on manufacturing ventilators at their factories.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

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

Government bans export of ventilators, disposable masks, textile raw material for masks with immediate effect

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

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

The Narendra Modi government on Thursday banned the export of all ventilators, surgical/disposable masks, the textile raw material for masks with immediate effect as India reported its fourth coronavirus death.

“The export of all ventilators, surgical/disposable masks only, and textile raw material for masks and coveralls only…has been prohibited, with immediate effect,” the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) said in a notification.

However, it said items including gloves, ophthalmic instruments and appliances, surgical blades, gas masks with a chemical absorbent for filtration against poisonous vapour and smoke, and biopsy punch can be freely exported.

While the total COVID-19 cases rose to 173, the country banned landing of all international commercial passenger flights from March 22 for a week, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged people to stay indoors and called for ‘Janata Curfew’ on Sunday.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

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