Riding on the heels of falling Case Fatality Rate, the Union Government decides to permit exports of ventilators

The Group of Ministers (GOM) on COVID-19 has considered and agreed to the proposal of the Ministry of Health & 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.

This significant decision comes on the heels of India continuing to maintain a progressively declining low rate of case fatality of COVID-19 patients, which currently stands at 2.15 per cent, which means that fewer numbers of active cases are on ventilators. As on 31st July 2020, only 0.22 per cent of the active cases were on ventilators across the country. Additionally, there has been substantial growth in the domestic manufacturing capacity of ventilators. Compared to January 2020, there are presently more than 20 domestic manufacturers for 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 24.03.2020. Now with export of ventilators having been allowed, it is hoped that domestic ventilators would be in a position to find new markets for Indian ventilators in foreign countries.