News Analysis India

Tag: Pressure Swing Adsorption

  • PM Narendra Modi reviews progress of oxygen supply, availability across country

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: More than 1,500 PSA (Pressure Swing Adsorption) oxygen plants are coming up across the country, the government said on Friday as Prime Minister Narendra Modi reviewed the progress of augmentation and availability of the life-saving gas.

    The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), in a statement, said that Modi asked officials to ensure that these plants are made functional at the earliest and also told them to work closely with state governments in this regard. These upcoming oxygen plants include those being built with the contribution from the PM CARES fund as well as from various ministries and PSUs, it said.

    PSA oxygen plants contributed by the PM CARES fund are coming up in all states and districts of the country, and Modi was told that they will support more than 4 lakh oxygenated beds once functional, the PMO said.

    “PM asked officials to ensure there is adequate training of hospital staff on operation and maintenance of oxygen plants. He also directed officials to ensure that each district has trained personnel available,” it said.

    The prime minister was informed by officials that a training module prepared by experts is in place, and they are targeting training of around 8,000 people across the country. Modi also asked them to deploy advanced technology like IoT to track the performance and functioning of these oxygen plants at the local and national level.

    The PMO said that he was informed by officials that a pilot exercise is being done using IoT for monitoring the performance of the oxygen plants. “Officials also informed the prime minister that they are in regular touch with officers from state governments regarding fast-tracking the oxygen plants,” it said.

    With many places complaining of oxygen shortage in hospitals during the peak of the second COVID-19 wave in April-May, the Union government has been taking measures in coordination with states to boost the production and supply of the life-saving gas.

    Modi has been holding a number of meetings in this regard amid apprehensions of a third wave of the pandemic.

  • Expedite installation of PSA oxygen plants in Delhi: HC to Centre

    The court issued the direction to the Centre after the Delhi government said that it was the central government which allocated two vendors for installing the eight PSA plants in the city.

  • 551 oxygen generation plants to be set up in govt hospitals through PM Cares Fund: PMO

    By Express News Service
    NEW DELHI: The Centre on Sunday announced that 551 medical oxygen generation plants will be installed in government hospitals across India under the PM Cares funds, amid a massive shortage of the crucial supply of oxygen that has kept hospitals treating COVID-19 patients on tenterhooks for the last several days.

    These plants will boost oxygen availability at the district level, assured the government as an aggressive second wave of coronavirus has overwhelmed hospitals with a large number of patients in need  of supplemental oxygen.

    An in-principle approval was given for the Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) oxygen generation plants under the funds, said the Union government and added that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has directed that these plants should be made functional as soon as possible.

    However, the funds allocated for the purpose was not disclosed.

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    These dedicated plants are set to be established in identified government hospitals in district headquarters in various states and the procurement will be done through the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

    The PM Cares fund had earlier this year allocated Rs 201.58 crores for installation of additional 162 oxygen plants in government hospitals but the ministry recently said that only 33 such plants have been installed.

    The basic aim behind establishing such plants in government hospitals in the district headquarters is to further strengthen the public health system and ensure that each of these hospitals has a captive oxygen generation facility, said the Centre.

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    Such an in-house captive oxygen generation facility would address the day-to-day medical oxygen needs of these hospitals and the district, said the Centre. In addition, the liquid medical oxygen would serve  as a “top up” to the captive oxygen generation.

    “Such a system will go a long way in ensuring that government hospitals in the districts do not face sudden disruption of oxygen supplies and have access to adequate uninterrupted oxygen supply to manage the Covid-19 patients and other patients needing such support,” noted a statement by the ministry.

    India is struggling with a second wave of the pandemic with more than 3,00,000 daily new coronavirus cases being reported in the past few days.

    Several hospitals in the national capital are grappling with severe shortage of medical oxygen.

    While some hospitals have managed to make short-term arrangements, there is no immediate end to the crisis in sight.

    (With PTI inputs)

  • 162 pressure swing adsorption plants sanctioned to augment medical oxygen, says government amid COVID crisis

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The Centre has sanctioned installation of 162 pressure swing adsorption (PSA) plants in public health facilities in all states, the Health Ministry said on Sunday, as demand of medical oxygen goes through the roof amid spiralling coronavirus cases in the country.

    The PSA plants manufacture oxygen and help hospitals become self-sufficient in their requirement for medical oxygen, while also reducing the burden on the national grid for its supply of medical oxygen.

    A total of 162 PSA oxygen plants have been sanctioned by the government for installation in public health facilities in all states, the ministry tweeted.

    “These will augment medical oxygen capacity by 154.19 MT.”

    Thirty-three of the 162 PSA plants have been installed — five in Madhya Pradesh, four in Himachal Pradesh, three each in Chandigarh, Gujarat and Uttarakhand; two each in Bihar, Karnataka and Telangana; and one each in Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Haryana, Kerala, Maharashtra, Puducherry, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh, it said.

    Fifty-nine more PSA plants will be installed by April-end, while 80 more will be installed by May-end.

    In addition to these, states have requested for more than 100 such additional plants, which are also being sanctioned, it said.

    “The entire cost of 162 PSA oxygen plants amounting to Rs 201.58 crore has been borne by the central government. This also includes 7-year maintenance cost to start from 4th year onwards after three years of warranty,” the ministry said in a series of tweets.

    India reported a record 2,61,500 new coronavirus cases and 1,501 deaths on Sunday, while active cases have surpassed the 18-lakh mark, the ministry data stated.

    Earlier, the ministry had decided to float a tender for import of 50,000 MT of medical oxygen.

    It has been directed to finalise the tender for the same and also explore possible sources for import identified by the missions of the Ministry of External Affairs.