Washington, Apr 25 (PTI) An India-centric American trade advocacy group on Sunday said it has placed orders for one lakh portable oxygen concentrators and is working to airlift oxygen cylinders to New Delhi and other cities, in addition to sending shipment of vaccines directly from companies.
“Fighting the pandemic effectively will require concerted action on all fronts. At this time, the need is enormous, and all resources have to pooled,” said US-India Strategic and Partnership Forum (USISPF) president and CEO Mukesh Aghi.
The USISPF is working closely with the Government of India to ensure seamless movement of critical equipment and supplies, he said.
“USISPF will be soon setting up a dedicated web portal to centralize the efforts of individuals and other companies,” Aghi said.
Giving details of the efforts by USISPF, Aghi said India will soon receive at least a dozen ISO containers that will help transport oxygen within the country. These containers are being shipped or airlifted from different parts of Asia. Another dozen containers have already been identified for shipment to India and efforts are on to triple this number, he said.
USISPF members are working on airlifting oxygen cylinders into Delhi and a few other states that face shortage of oxygen supply.
Through generous donation of its member companies, USISPF has placed orders to source 100,000 portable oxygen concentrators for use at home and hospitals to be shipped to India immediately, he said, adding that USISPF is already in touch with manufacturers in the US, Mexico, Malaysia and China.
“India will soon also receive a significant shipment of vaccine directly from pharmaceutical companies,” he said.
USISPF has also approached companies in the US to supply and/or donate ICU beds, Covid-Test kits, N-95 Masks and other medical equipment. We expect the shipments to begin as early as Tuesday/Wednesday of the coming week.
On the ground, USISPF is working with member companies and NGO partners to set up vaccination and medical centers on corporate campuses.
In a statement, USISPF appreciated the efforts by leaders across the US government at the highest level to identify concrete steps the United States can take to assist India through this crisis.
“We look forward to announcements soon that will support India’s efforts to fill needs like oxygen, medicines, medical supplies, and vaccines,” USISPF said.
“This should include a waiver of current restrictions on the export of vaccine raw materials to ensure production of vaccine in India can continue uninterrupted. USISPF and our members stand ready to support assistance efforts of the US government at this critical time,” it said. PTI LKJ ZH ZH
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Other Sources: Business Wire, India Today, Business Line, ANI News and Millennium Post