City makes 50% of 1L coveralls, key component of
PPEs for health staff
Industrial units in and around Bengaluru have been
producing 50% of the one lakh coveralls being manufactured every day. DH
File Photo
Sagar Kulkarni, New Delhi, DHNS
Bengaluru has
emerged as the manufacturing hub for coveralls, a key component of the personal
protective equipment mandatory for health workers leading the fight against
Covid-19.
Industrial
units in and around the Karnataka capital have been producing 50% of the one
lakh coveralls being manufactured every day after the government moved in to promote
domestic production to overcome the shortage of the protective gear.
Since the
Centre eased norms for coverall production, Indian manufacturers have stepped
in to set up production capacity of one lakh coveralls per day.
“Bengaluru
has become a major hub for PPE coverall production in the country to combat
Covid-19 cases. Nearly 50% of the coverall production in the country is from
Bengaluru,” a Textile Ministry statement said.
Besides
Bengaluru, PPE Coveralls were also being manufactured by approved production
units in Tirupur, Chennai and Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu, Ahmedabad and Vadodara
in Gujarat, Phagwara and Ludhiana in Punjab, Kusumnagar and Bhiwandi in
Maharashtra, Dungarpur in Rajasthan, Noida in Uttar Pradesh, Gurugram in
Haryana, Kolkata and Delhi.
As Covid-19
pandemic spread across the world, international suppliers of coveralls had
expressed their inability to keep up with the supplies, owing to global demand.
The Health
Ministry finalised the technical requirements on March 2 based on the
indigenous availability of materials, clearing the way for domestic production
of coveralls.
Utilising the
opportunity, Indian manufacturers have come up with quality raw materials that
were approved by South Indian Textile Research Association (SITRA) that deals
in textiles used in medical equipment.
HLL Lifecare
Limited, the designated single-window procurement agency for hospitals and
healthcare organisations under the Health Ministry, published the
specifications on March 5, inviting manufacturers to participate in the
procurement process.
Tests &
certification
Besides
SITRA, three more laboratories have the Synthetic Blood Penetration Resistance
Test facilities as well as necessary approvals for conducting tests and
certification for Body Coveralls.
These are – Defence Research and Development Establishment (DRDE),
Gwalior, and two laboratories under Ordnance Factory Board – Heavy Vehicles
Factory, Avadi and Small Arms Factory, Kanpur.
