In response to a massive shortage of oxygen gas cylinders, the makeshift hospitals to be set up by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) in Lucknow will have their own oxygen supply with the help of a technology used in light combat aircraft Tejas fighter jets.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday held a review meeting through video conference with the top officials of the Ministry including the Chief of Defence Staff and Chief of Army and Navy along with their Secretaries.

He called upon the armed forces to be in close contact with the state government and be ready to provide any assistance to them.

According to a statement from the Ministry of Defence, Rajnath Singh was informed that the industry has been given a 1,000 litre per minute capacity oxygen generation plants technology, and the Uttar Pradesh government has placed an order for five such plants based on the On-Board Oxygen Generation Technology developed for LCA Tejas.

During the meeting, Dr G Satheesh Reddy, chairman of DRDO said that the industry can supply more plants to meet the hospital's needs.

“This automatic system can also prove to be a boon during the current Covid-19 situation,” the Ministry of Defence said in a statement.

The system, developed by DRDO's Defence Bio-Engineering & Electro Medical Laboratory (DEBEL), Bengaluru, delivers supplemental based on SpO2 (Blood Oxygen Saturation) levels and prevents the person from sinking into a state of Hypoxia, which is fatal in most cases if it sets in, the statement added.

Hypoxia is a condition in which the amount of oxygen reaching the tissues is insufficient to meet the body's total energy requirements. This is precisely the situation that occurs in a Covid patient as a result of virus infection, and it has been a leading factor in the current crisis.

DRDO chairman Dr Reddy further said that SpO2 (Blood Oxygen Saturation) based supplemental oxygen delivery system developed for soldiers posted at extreme high-altitude areas can be used for Covid-19 patients as their conditions become similar.