Rohit Shishodia
With more people getting cured of coronavirus and in the wake of reduction in case fatality rate to 2.15%, the government has decided to export made-in-India ventilators.

The decision has been taken by the Group of Ministers (GOM) on Covid-19 on August 1, 2020.

According to the Union Health Ministry, the GOM has considered and agreed to the proposal of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare allowing the export of made-in-India ventilators. This decision has been communicated to the Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) for further needed action to facilitate the export of indigenously manufactured ventilators.

The ministry has said that this significant decision comes on the heels of India continuing to maintain a progressively declining low case fatality rate of Covid-19 patients, which currently stands at 2.15%, which means that fewer numbers of active cases are on ventilators.

As on July 31, 2020, only 0.22% of the active cases were on ventilators across the country. Additionally, there has been substantial growth in the domestic manufacturing capacity of ventilators. There are presently more than 20 domestic manufacturers of ventilators.

The export prohibition /restriction on ventilators was imposed in March 2020 to ensure domestic availability to effectively fight Covid-19. All types of ventilators were prohibited for export vide DGFT Notification No. 53 w.e.f March 24, 2020. Now, with export of ventilators having been allowed, it is hoped that domestic ventilators would be in a position to find new markets in foreign countries.