Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday sanctioned the procurement of one lakh portable oxygen concentrators from the PM Cares Fund.
The decision was taken at a high-level meeting, chaired by the Prime Minister, to discuss the measures needed to improve liquid medical oxygen (LMO) supply for Covid management. He instructed that these oxygen concentrators should be procured at the earliest and provided in states with a high case burden.
In addition to the earlier sanctioned 713 Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) plants under PM Cares Fund, 500 new PSA plants have been sanctioned. The PSA plants will augment the supply of liquid medical oxygen at hospitals in district headquarters and Tier 2 cities. These 500 PSA plants will be established with transfer of the indigenous technology developed by the DRDO and the CSIR to the domestic manufacturers.
Establishing PSA plants and procurement of portable oxygen concentrators will greatly augment the supply of oxygen near the demand clusters, thereby addressing the current logistical challenges in transporting oxygen from plants to hospitals, an official statement said.