Coronavirus: India to send hydroxychloroquine to 55 other countries

India is sending Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) tablets not only to the United States but 54 other nations to help them deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sources in New Delhi said that many countries around the world had requested India to send HCQ tablets ever since the drug had been recommended for treatment of the patients infected with the COVID-19.

The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) on April 4 last banned the export of the HCQ tablets “without any exception” in order to ensure availability of the drug in adequate quantities for the treatment of the COVID-19 patients in the country.

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The Government, however, decided to allow export of the drug on a case-to-case basis, responding to the specific requests from the foreign countries after ensuring adequate stock for meeting domestic requirements.

Sources said that New Delhi had supplied the HCQ in small quantities to 34 nations as a grant, while 21 nations had procured the tablets on commercial terms from India.

India is likely to allow export of the HCQ to several other nations in the coming weeks as it is still receiving new requests for the drug from foreign governments.

India’s export to the HCQ to the US had triggered a controversy last week.

Trump had on April 5 called Modi and requested him to relax the ban so that the US could procure the drug from India. He later subtly stepped up pressure on New Delhi and warned of “retaliation” if the US was not allowed to import the drug from India.

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Just hours after Trump talked tough on New Delhi’s ban on the export of the HCQ, the Modi Government announced that India would allow export of the drug to its neighbours in South Asia as well as some other worst COVID-19 affected countries. It hinted that the US would be among the countries, which would be allowed to procure the drug from India.

The Congress and other opposition parties criticized the Modi Government for its decision to allow export of the HCQ to the US instead of strongly responding to the American President’s warning about “retaliation”.