Bengaluru: 50% of Indian PPE kits manufactured in city

Bengaluru: The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has stated that the country has reached the capacity of producing more than 1 lakh Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) kits in a day.

More than half of these kits are being manufactured here.

In a news briefing, the Ministry stated: “Bengaluru has become a major hub for PPE coverall production in the country to combat COVID-19 cases. Nearly 50% of the coverall production in the country is from Bengaluru.”

The Ministry had earlier designated HLL Life Care Limited as the sole procurement agency of these kits for all the hospitals and related entities falling under the jurisdiction of the Central government.

The city and its surrounding districts became the hub of PPE manufacturing after the government exempted these areas for PPE production and also considering that there were no COVID-19 cases reported in these districts.

Four government laboratories can approve and certify PPE kits for quality and standards. These are South India Textiles Research Association in Coimbatore, Defence Research and Development Establishment in Gwalior, Heavy Vehicles Factory in Avadi and Small Arms Factory in Kanpur.

Manufacturers of PPE kits receive a Unique Certification Code (UCC-COVID19) from one of these laboratories for their prototype before mass manufacturing.