Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday (9 July) chaired a high-level meeting to review the COVID-19 situation and the progress of oxygen augmentation and availability across the country.
Officials briefed Prime Minister about the progress on the installation of PSA oxygen plants across the country. More than 1500 PSA oxygen plants are coming up across the nation which includes contributions from PM CARES as well as various ministries and PSUs, a statement by the PMO said.
The Prime Minister was informed that once all the PSA oxygen plants — to be set up in all states and districts of the country —are functional, they would support more than 4 lakh oxygenated beds.
PM Modi asked officials to ensure there is adequate training of hospital staff on the operation and maintenance of oxygen plants. He also directed officials to ensure that each district has trained personnel available. Officials informed him that there is a training module prepared by experts and they are targeting training of around 8000 people across the country, the statement said.
PM Modi also said that we should deploy advanced technology like IoT to track performance and functioning of these oxygen plants at a local and national level. Officials apprised the PM about a pilot being done using Internet of Things (IoT) for monitoring the performance of the oxygen plants.
This is the Prime Minister’s first such high-level Covid-19 meet after a reshuffle in his council of ministers earlier this week. The new Union health minister, Mansukh Mandaviya, took charge of his ministry on Thursday replacing Dr. Harsh Vardhan on the post, who resigned in the middle of the pandemic.
