DRDO to Set up 500 Oxygen Plants Under PM-CARES Fund in 3 Months

DRDO to Set up 500 Oxygen Plants Under PM-CARES Fund in 3 Months

    The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) will set up 500 medical oxygen generating plants across the country within three months under the PM-CARES fund to ramp up oxygen production to fight the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) crisis ripping through the country, the defence ministry announced on Wednesday.

 

       In addition, the DRDO has also started work to set up oxygen generating plants in four government hospitals in Delhi -- AIIMS, RML, Lady Hardinge, and Safdarjung -- by May 10 to help tackle the oxygen crisis amid the second Covid wave, officials familiar with the developments said on Wednesday. Another oxygen generating plant will be set up at AIIMS, Jhajjar.

   The DRDO has transferred oxygen generation technology to the industry, which has now stepped in to provide oxygen plants to state governments and hospitals. The technology transferred to the industry is based on the onboard oxygen generation technology developed for Tejas light combat aircraft. The oxygen generation plants can produce 1,000 litres of oxygen per minute.

       The DRDO has transferred technology to Tata Advanced Systems Limited, Bengaluru, and Trident Pneumatics Pvt Ltd, Coimbatore, which will be producing 380 of the 500 plants for installation across various hospitals in the country, the defence ministry said in a statement. The remaining 120 plants will be produced by the industry in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Petroleum, Dehradun, it added.

(Source: Hindustan Times)