Centre debunks reports claiming low quality of PPEs

It also said that India has significantly ramped up its domestic production capacity of PPEs and N95 masks.

Debunking reports that the quality of personal protective equipment (PPE) coveralls that are procured by the government is poor, the Union Health Ministry on Monday said that the products that under reference have no relevance to the those procured by the Centre.

"There are some reports in a section of the media expressing concern about the quality of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) coveralls. The products under reference have no relevance to the procurement being made by the Central Government," the ministry said in a statement.

It also said that India has significantly ramped up its domestic production capacity of PPEs and N95 masks and the requirements of the States/UTs are being sufficiently met clarifying on the quality of personal protective equipment (PPE) coveralls.

"HLL Lifecare Limited (HLL), the procuring agency of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, is procuring PPE coveralls from manufacturers/suppliers only after getting their coveralls tested and approved by one of the eight labs nominated by the Ministry of Textiles (MoT) for testing the same," the statement read.

The statement further said that 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. "HLL is also undertaking random sampling of the supplies being made, for which a testing protocol has been devised," it added.

"In case of any failure, the company is being disqualified for any supplies. All the states/UTs have been asked to ensure procurement which is being carried out at their level after following the prescribed testing for PPEs from MoT nominated labs," the ministry informed.

The dynamic information of manufacturers whose products have qualified the tests is available on MoT website.

The ministry informed that over 3 lakh PPEs and N95 masks are being procured every day. States/UTs, as well as Central Institutions, have been provided with around 111.08 lakh N-95 masks and around 74.48 lakh PPEs, it added.