In an effort to bolster the fight against Covid-19, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has sanctioned the procurement of one lakh portable oxygen concentrators from the PM Cares Fund.

The decision was taken at a high-level meeting chaired by PM Modi to discuss the measures needed to improve Liquid Medical Oxygen (LMO) supply for tackling the second wave.

PM instructed that these oxygen concentrators should be procured at the earliest and provided in states with high case burden, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said in a statement.

In addition to the earlier sanctioned 713 Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) plants under PM Cares Fund, 500 new PSA oxygen plants have been sanctioned under PM CARES Fund.

The PSA plants will augment the supply of liquid medical oxygen at hospitals in district headquarters and Tier two cities.

These 500 PSA plants will be established with transfer of the indigenous technology developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) to the domestic manufacturers.

“Establishing PSA plants and procurement of portable oxygen concentrators will greatly augment the supply of oxygen near the demand clusters, thereby addressing the current logistical challenges in transporting oxygen from plants to hospitals,” said the statement released by PMO.