New Delhi: India has become the world’s second largest manufacturer of personal protective equipment (PPE) body coveralls within a short time span of two months, the government said Thursday. China is the world’s leading producer of PPE body coveralls, crucial to safeguard against the COVID-19 pandemic. However, India is rapidly catching up in the production of PPEs.
In a statement, the Ministry of Textiles said it has been taking several steps to ensure that both quality and quantity of PPE coveralls going up to the desired levels. In the process India has been catapulted into the world’s second largest manufacturer of body coveralls, next only to China.
The ministry has taken steps to ensure that only certified players across the entire supply chain are allowed to supply body coveralls to governments,.
Besides, Textiles Committee, Mumbai too will now test and certify PPE body coveralls required for healthcare workers and other COVID-19 warriors.
Ajit Chavan, secretary, Textiles Committee and Additional Textile Commissioner, Ministry of Textiles, explained how the committee rose up to the occasion to surmount the challenge of non-availability of reputed domestic manufacturers of PPE testing equipment.
“We faced the humongous challenges of non-availability of domestic manufacturers of repute and incessant delay/long gestation period to import machine from China as also challenges of ever-increasing prices by the opportunist companies in China due to demand for such equipment the world over. We therefore decided to do it indigenously,” said Chavan.
The secretary informed how the testing equipment will help the nation during the crisis: “With the acquisition of this equipment and with a concrete plan to add some more equipment as per need, we will be able to address not only the quantitative but also the qualitative requirements involved in the testing of body coveralls worn by the frontline health workers and other COVID-19 warriors,” added Chavan.
The Textiles Committee is a statutory body established in 1963 through an Act of Parliament and is under the administrative control of the Ministry of Textiles, Government of India.
PTI
