Union Government decides to permit exports of ventilators

New Delhi, Aug 02: The Group of Ministers (GOM) on COVID-19 has agreed to the proposal of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare allowing the export of made-in-India ventilators. 

This decision has been communicated to the Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) for further needed action to facilitate the export of indigenously manufactured ventilators.

This significant decision comes on the heels of India continuing to maintain a progressively declining low rate of case fatality of COVID-19 patients, which currently stands at 2.15 percent, which means that fewer numbers of active cases are on ventilators. 

As on July 31, only 0.22 percent of the active cases were on ventilators across the country. Additionally, there has been substantial growth in the domestic manufacturing capacity of ventilators. Compared to January 2020, there are presently more than 20 domestic manufacturers for ventilators.

The export prohibition/restriction on ventilators was imposed in March 2020 to ensure domestic availability to effectively fight COVID-19. All types of ventilators were prohibited for export vide DGFT Notification No. 53 with effect from March 24. 

Now with export of ventilators having been allowed, it is hoped that domestic ventilators would be in a position to find new markets for Indian ventilators in foreign countries, a PIB release stated.