PM-Cares fund: 50,000 ventilators for COVID-19 treatment; Maharashtra, Delhi get most

Maharashtra and Delhi — the worst-affected states due to coronavirus pandemic in India — have received the maximum number of ‘Made-in-India’ ventilators from Centre which are being procured under Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations (PM CARES) Fund.
In March, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had set up PM CARES fund where everyone can contribute to help the government fight against coronavirus. Amid surging cases of coronavirus in India, PM CARES Fund has allocated ₹2,000 crore for supply of 50,000 ‘Made-in-India’ ventilators to government-run COVID-19 hospitals in all states and Union territories.

Of the 50,000 ventilators, 30,000 are being manufactured by Bharat Electronics Ltd and the remaining by AgVa Healthcare (10,000), AMTZ Basic (5,650), AMTZ High End (4,000) and Allied Medical (350).

So far 2,923 ventilators have been manufactured, of which 1,340 ventilators have been delivered to the states/UTs.

“The prominent recipients include Maharashtra (275), Delhi (275), Gujarat (175), Bihar (100), Karnataka (90), Rajasthan (75),” according to the PMO statement. By the end of this month, additional 14,000 ventilators will be delivered to all states or UTs, the statement mentioned.

A total of ₹1,000 crore from PM CARES Fund will be spend for the welfare of the migrant labourers. The allocated money shall be used for arranging accommodation, food, medical treatment and transportation of the migrant labourer, the Prime Minister’s office said in a statement.

Maharashtra (181 crore), Uttar Pradesh (103 crore), Tamil Nadu (83 crore), Gujarat (66 crore) and Delhi (55 crore) are some of the prominent recipients of this grant. The entire amount has already been released to the states and the Union territories.

“The distribution of the fund is based on the formula of 50% weightage for the population as per 2011 census, 40% weightage for number of COVID-19 cases and 10% for equal distribution among all the states or Union territories,” the statement read.

India’s COVID-19 count has surged past 440,215 today. Over 12,000 fresh infections were detected in the last 24 hours. The death toll from the deadly virus has increased to 14,011. – Livemint