Tata Steel on Sunday announced it is supplying up to 300 tonnes of medical oxygen on a daily basis to various state governments and hospitals for treatment of COVID-19 patients.
Liquid medical oxygen or LMO is a crucial medical requirement for the treatment of coronavirus patients.
Responding to the national urgency, we are supplying 200-300 tonnes of liquid medical oxygen daily, stated the company through microblogging site.
JSPL also said it is supplying 50-100 tonne oxygen daily from its facilities at Angul (Odisha) and Raigarh (Chhattisgarh).
In a tweet on Saturday, the country's largest steel-making company SAIL said it has also supplied over 33,300 tonne of LMO for the treatment of coronavirus-affected patients.
ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India (AMNS India) said it is supplying 200 tonnes of medical oxygen per day to health facilities in Gujarat.
"Supply of this crucial medical requirement from our oxygen plant in Hazira...is in line with our social commitment to stand with our authorities and safeguard communities during these trying times," AMNS India CEO Dilip Oommen was quoted as saying by the company in a tweet on Saturday.
On Friday, Steel Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Friday held a meeting with senior officials of the ministry to augment availability of medical oxygen in the country.
According to the steel ministry, 28 oxygen plants located in the steel facility of both public and private sectors are supplying about 1,500 tonne of medical oxygen every day.
Also, an additional stock of 30,000 MT, including the safety stock, is being made available for medical use.
JSW Steel said on Sunday that the company is supplying oxygen for medical purposes as a priority in response to the current crises. "Currently, the supplies are ramped up to over 185 tonnes and making every effort to increase further from all our steel plants across the country," JSW Steel said.
In view of the recent surge in the country of Covid-19 cases, the requirement of oxygen for effective clinical treatment of Covid patients has also witnessed a manifold hike. Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has conveyed that this has already reached about 60 per cent of the total daily oxygen production, and is expected to rise further. There have been reports of shortage of medical oxygen from some states and UTs.
The Centre has been regularly monitoring and ensuring smooth supply of essential medical equipment including medical oxygen to the affected states and addressing challenges that arise from time to time.
The Empowered Group-II (EG-II) headed by Secretary, Department for Promotion of Industry & Internal Trade (DPIIT) is mandated by the Centre to manage requisite supplies of medical equipments, drugs including medical oxygen across the country, the statement said.
Several immediate and timely measures have been taken in the recent days by the Centre to address the issue of adequate availability of medical oxygen across the country. While every effort is being made to meet the rising demand for medical oxygen, including augmenting daily production and stocks and States/UTs are taking appropriate steps for optimum and rationalised utilisation of available stock of oxygen, the present trend necessitates additional measures.
