Made in India Ventilators can now be Exported- Central Government [Read Official Notification]

A notification dated 24.03.2020 has been issued by the Central Government for allowing the export of ventilators. The Directorate General of Foreign Trade stated that any type of artificial respiratory apparatus, oxygen therapy apparatus, or any other type of breathing device will be made free for exportation purposes.

On 24 March 2020, the Central Government had imposed a ban on the export of ventilators. This was done to fight against the Coronavirus.

As per the DGFT Notification No. 53, the export of all types of ventilators was prohibited. The restrictions were imposed in March 2020 in view of the situation that was created by Covid-19.

Section- 3 of the Foreign Trade Act, 1992 has empowered the Central Government to make amendments in relation to restriction, prohibition, or regulating the import or export of the goods and services or technology.

On 1 August, the group of ministers on COVID- 19 made a consensus to the proposal to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare for exporting the made – in -India ventilators.

Rajesh Bhushan, Secretary, Ministry of Health stated that Bharat Electronics Limited (BHEL) and Andhra Med- Tech Zone ( AMTZ) are the keys to unlock the made- in- India ventilators. He stated that,

    “ I would like to share the saga of how the Indian domestic industry and Indian innovators along with the Indian government created a new industry- homegrown basic ICU ventilators. Out of the total 60,000 ventilators the Union Government has ordered, the share of Make in India ventilators is 96 percent by volume and 90 percent by value,”.

He further added that” In 2019, the Indian ventilator market was roughly estimated as 8, 510 units c=valued at Rs. 444.74 crores. Because Of COVID-19, in March domestic manufacturers imported various components like sensors, pressure transducer, control valves, turbines. It wouldn’t have been possible to make ventilators without import than”.

Rajesh Bhushan also stated that in less than two months more than 18,000 ventilators have been supplied to states/ UTs/ Central Government Hospitals/ DRDO facilities. Earlier the ventilators were not under the Bureau of Indian Standards(BIS) and were not regulated medical devices. But, later the technical experts under Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) prescribed Minimum Essential Specifications for basic ICU ventilators to be procured for COVID- 19.

The ban lift will be an asset to the Domestic Manufacturers, at the same time it will make India self- dependant and sufficient for producing life-saving devices.

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