Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan yesterday said that there is no shortage of Medical Oxygen in the country. The Minister was answering questions posed by his social media interactors on the 6th episode of Sunday Samvaad.

He said the current oxygen production capacity of India is around 6,400 tonnes per day. Dr Harsh Vardhan said the Government is ready to scale up the production capacity in order to meet any further increase in demand arising due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. He said, the Empowered Group constituted by the Home Ministry is monitoring the requirement of medical oxygen across the country.

He has further added that the Ministry of Health is also monitoring the availability and supply of Medical Oxygen at the field level through regular Video Conferences with State Nodal officers. The Minister said, 1,02,400 Medical Oxygen Cylinders have been delivered to States and Union Territories. He confirmed the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority has fixed the price of Liquid Medical Oxygen.

Dr Harsh Vardhan opined that the Health Ministry has released Rs 1,352 crore to 33 States and UTs under Phase -2 of COVID Package. He said the grant has been released in tranches during the months of August, September and October this year.