New Delhi, Jan 6 (PTI) The government is much better prepared to deal with the rising coronavirus cases and if required, the country can meet demand of 19,000 metric tonnes (MT) of oxygen per day, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) Secretary Anurag Jain said on Thursday.
He also said the Omicron variant is unlikely to have much impact on the country’s economic growth.
Asked about the possible impact of Omicron on the economy and industry, Jain said: “We are much better prepared this time….we do not expect much problem on the economic front.” On oxygen availability, he said PSA (pressure swing adsorption) plants with oxygen generation capacity of 4,000 MT have been set up in different parts of the country, about 1.4 lakh oxygen concentrators are there in the system (2,000 MT) and production capacity has gone up to about 9,800 MT.
There were projections that if a third wave hits the country, 17,000-18,000 MT of oxygen per day would be required and “if needed, we can meet demand of 19,000 MT of oxygen,” he told reporters here.
During the first wave in 2020, the highest requirement went up to 3,000 MT and during the second wave it had touched 9,000 MT.
“We have got reserves filled, which will be about 50,000-60,000 MT…We can use that by about 3000 MT daily,” he said, adding “till now, we have not gone behind the 1,600 MT requirement on any day”.
India on Thursday saw the biggest single-day jump of 495 Omicron cases, taking the total number of infections of the new variant of the coronavirus to 2,630, according to Union health ministry data.
Further, Jain said the department is working to launch a new WPI (wholesale price index) with base year of 2017-18. PTI RR ABM ABM
