Madhurima
NEW DELHI: The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has said that they are not compromising with the quality of PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) as they are following strict norms.
This was announced after the ministry was alleged about the quality of the PPE coveralls.
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It said that the aforementioned product had no relevance to the attainment being made by the Centre.
The ministry mentioned, "HLL Lifecare Limited (HLL), the procuring agency of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, is procuring PPE coveralls from manufacturers or suppliers only after getting them tested and approved by one of the eight labs nominated by the Ministry of Textiles (MoT). It is only after their products qualify in the test prescribed by the technical committee (JMG) of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, that they are procured."
The ministry said that the purchasing agency, HLL is also practising sampling on a random basis for the products which are being produced. A specific protocol has also been established, if a product fails to pass it, it will get disqualified.
The Health Ministry made sure to appeal to the states to obtain PPE only after following these norms featuring prescribed testing from labs nominated by the MoT (Ministry of Textiles). They also said that only the products which are being greenlighted by the labs are featuring under Government e-Marketplace (GeM).
The Ministry revealed, "The manufacturers who have got PPEs qualified have been advised by the MoT to on-board on to the GeM so that the procurement by States can be carried out accordingly. For the private sector also, the dynamic information of manufacturers whose products have qualified the tests is available on the MoT website."
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People were further informed that the country has increased its production of PPEs and N95 masks in such a way that the requirement by the states and union territories are being met adequately.
