Amid reports of shortages of oxygen supply at various places, particularly at the peak of Covid pandemic during the second wave, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a high-level meeting on Friday to review oxygen supply in the country. In the meeting, he was informed that more than 1,500 PSA oxygen plants will be installed across the nation via contributions from PM CARES Fund as well as various ministries and public sector undertakings, as per a press release.
“PSA Oxygen plants contributed by PM CARES are coming up in all States and districts of the country. PM was informed that once all PSA Oxygen plants coming up through PM CARES would be functional, they would support more than 4 lakh oxygenated beds,” the release said.
The directions
PM Modi asked the officials to ensure that these plants are made functional at the earliest and to work closely with the State Governments for the same. Meanwhile, officers also apprised him that they are in regular touch with the States regarding fast-tracking the oxygen plants.
Besides, PM Modi also asked officials to ensure there is adequate training of hospital staff on operation and maintenance of oxygen plants. He directed them to ensure that each district has trained personnel available and there is a training module prepared by experts. He also urged the officials to target the training of around 8,000 people across the country.
Furthermore, PM Modi also said that advanced technology like IoT should be deployed to track performance and functioning of these oxygen plants at a local and national level. He was informed by the officials that a pilot is being done using IoT for monitoring the performance of the oxygen plants.