Industry bodies formulate COVID response after governments’ SOS

The Centre and state governments have reached out to industry bodies like the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) to augment the pandemic response, according to sources.

The biggest demand right now is for oxygen supply and different district bodies, state governments and even the Centre have spoken to the industry. There have been several rounds of conversations with industry association as to how the industry can pitch in.

Therefore, a list of companies has been prepared by bodies like FICCI and CII. These are companies that can divert their own oxygen supply to the government, to district authorities where it is needed the most. At the same time, there is also demand coming in for pre-fabricated beds and also request to the industry to convert some of their manufacturing facilities into makeshift hospitals which can at least provide basic COVID care because most of the hospitals are full right now. There is a need for greater capacity in the system and that’s why there is a dialogue with the industry right now.

Also, different pharma companies are encouraged to increase the supply of important medicines like Remdesivir and supply them to districts and states where there is a problem.

So yes, industry bodies like CII, Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM), FICCI are coordinating the response at a national level but district authorities are also getting in touch with manufacturing units close to their cities to see if there can be a quick response. CNBC TV18