SpiceJet's freight carrier SpiceXpress has airlifted into India 800 oxygen concentrators from Hong Kong
Bengaluru: With the second wave of coronavirus hitting India hard, India is doing all it can to increase oxygen supply to the citizens.
The Indian Railways, air force have also pitched in to help supply oxygen to different parts of the country.
Now, as per reports, SpiceJet's freight carrier SpiceXpress has airlifted into India 800 oxygen concentrators from Hong Kong.
SpiceJet's chairman and managing director Ajay Singh said that the airline along with its sister company SpiceHealth is looking to bring into India more than 10,000 oxygen concentrators in the coming days from across the globe, as per an Economic Times report.
The Adani group has also airlifted oxygen from Saudi Arabia to ameliorate the situation.
Meanwhile, the Centre has issued funds under the PMCARES Fund to install 551 PSA Oxygen Generation Plants in public health facilities.
This will boost the availability of medical oxygen to hospitals.
The Prime Minister has directed that these plants should be made functional as soon as possible to boost oxygen supply at the district level. These dedicated plants will be established in identified government hospitals in district headquarters in various states and Union territories. The procurement will be done through the ministry of health and family welfare.
Union home minister Amit Shah has expressed his gratitude to the Prime Minister for allocating the funds.
DRDO pitches in, builds hospitals, transfers oxygen technology:
DRDO has used this technology to create 1000 litres of oxygen per minute which can be translated into civilian use.
It is an indigenously built technology (specifically for India-manufactured aircraft) used to supply oxygen to the aircrew by supplying oxygen using bleed air from the engine and separating oxygen from other components, using a process called Pressure Swing Adsorption Technology.
With this technology the pilot can remain airborne for a long time. Till this time, the pilots had to get to the ground, maybe an hour or so after they were airborne to refill oxygen.
Read Exclusive COVID-19 Coronavirus News updates, at MyNation.