New Delhi: The Central government has restricted the quantity of syringes' export to boost domestic production and supply, said the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Saturday. According to a statement issued by the ministry, the restriction applies to just three categories of syringes for three months.
It further said, "With a firm political commitment to vaccinate India's last citizen, fulfilling the philosophy of 'Antyodaya' espoused by Pt. Deendayal Upadhyay, the Government has put in place a quantitative restriction on the export of syringes to boost their domestic availability and uptake." The ministry stated that syringes are vital to sustaining the momentum of the program to vaccinate all eligible Citizens in the shortest possible time.
It further added that with a view to ensure adequate availability of the syringes, used to administer the vaccine, the Government of India has enacted this quantitative restriction on the export of following denominations of the syringes only on 0.5 ml/ 1ml AD (auto-disable) syringes, 0.5 ml/1 ml/2 ml/3 ml disposable syringes, and 1ml/2 ml/3 ml RUP (re-use prevention) syringes.
the Government of India has enacted this quantitative restriction on the export of following denominations of the syringes only on 0.5 ml/ 1ml AD (auto-disable) syringes, 0.5 ml/1 ml/2 ml/3 ml disposable syringes, and 1ml/2 ml/3 ml RUP (re-use prevention) syringes
As per an interview in The Wire, Rajiv Nath, chairman and managing director of Hindustan Syringes and Medical Devices Limited said that India’s syringe manufactures in touch with the government for supply details but were not given any inputs and now they are being pressured to divert stock meant for exports to the domestic market.
Around 300 million syringes are need every month to carry on India's vaccination drive, according to the publication, roughly the same number required by the country to vaccinate children every year, as per a Deccan Herald report. The shortage is reportedly a result of the Centre not communicating the need to the syringe makers in advance.
