Govt allows export of PPE kits, caps monthly quota at 50 lakh

The government on Monday allowed export of personal protection equipment (PPE) medical coveralls with a cap of 50 lakh per month as the country strives to achieve self-reliance while battling the COVID-19 crisis.

"A monthly quota of 50 lakh PPE medical coveralls for COVID-19 units has been fixed for issuance of export licences to the eligible applicants as per the criteria to be separately issued in a trade notice," according to official notification.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said repeatedly that India has the potential to not just win the COVID-19 battle but also emerge as a global leader.

When the COVID-19 outbreak started India, there was no domestic manufacture of PPE kits. Now, there is excess domestic capacity and manufacturers are getting export order requests.

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said over the weekend while addressing a webinar on the occasion of International MSME Day that manufacturers are getting orders for PPE kits from the United States, Canada, the United Arab Emirates and European countries.

According to the Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC), the size of the global market for PPEs is more than 60 billion dollars over the next five years.

The Modi government has ramped up India's capacities to manufacture PPE kits in collaboration with private players. Reports say the country is currently producing an estimated six lakh personal protective equipment (PPE) kits per day.

( With inputs from ANI )