Punjab also known as Agrarian state of India, has emerged as a key player in the battle against novel coronavirus. 'Food bowl' of India has received a clearence from the South India Textiles Research Association (SITRA) for the manufacturing of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) kits/ gears in the 41 industrial units of the state.
Of the 41 manufacturers cleared for the production of PPE kits, 18 have got orders of more than 25 lakh PPE gears worth Rs 256 crore from Hindustan Latex Limited. However, the orders are at different stage of production.
Some manufacturers have already delivered a major chunk of the orders, others are in the process of manufacture while those who have been given recent orders are setting up manufcaturing lines to start the production process.
Though state's textile hub, majorly based in Ludhiana, is in the league of big manufacturers from Bangalore, Coimbatore, Tirupur, Mumbai, Surat, Noida and Gurugram, creating/ manufacturing of new product is not a cakewalk.
In an interview to eminent news agency, Additional Secretary in textiles ministry VK Singh said, "Punjab is an inspiring story. The industry has done very well and I am sure it will continue in a similar fashion in the future."
Earlier by the end of March, the textiles ministry was bewildered to discover that there were only two manufacturers, both Bangalore-based, which had stepped forward to help India with PPE production.
“There were no other manufacturers. Majority samples from Punjab were failing tests. It was a very frustrating experience. But the Punjab manufacturers kept on improving. There were manufacturers whose samples got clearance in the third attempt since the tests are very technical. But now Punjab alone manufactures a size-able share of PPEs in the country,” said VK Singh, who used to coordinate to take samples to the SITRA laboratory in Coimbatore for testing.
“Stitching and taping is a very crucial factor in the tests. Punjab manufacturers who improved fabric quality also went on to fulfil high quality stitching and taping requirements…One may consider it a baby step but it is a first step of a very long journey for the Punjab industry,” he added.
Punjab Additional Chief Secretary (Industries and Commerce) Vini Mahajan said, “I see it as a very strong sign of the entrepreneural spirit of the people of Punjab. They were able to understand very quickly what is the requirement of the times for the country and the state. They pulled out all stops to understand how to deliver and did it successfully.”
Ludhiana-based Shingora Textiles Limited’s Managing Director Amit Jain, “It is a seat belt moment for personal protection. Like people wear seat belts in the car, PPEs will also become an integral part. There is going to be a worldwide need for PPEs. China was world leader. India I can say is now at no. 2, only in a month’s time. The government has done a tremendous job.”
JCT Limited Strategic Business Development Director Priya Thapar said, “We are very grateful to the Centre government, Ministry of Textiles, Union Ministry of Health and the Punjab government because they have given us a great opportunity. They have helped create such a big industry for PPEs. The manufacturers in India can produce better PPEs than international players and definitely better than China.”