From Tejas technology to DRDO's expertise, Defence ministry steps in war against Covid

The defence minister asked the armed forces to be in close contact with the civil administrations across the country

With Covid-19 cases spiralling across the country and states raising concerns of existing health infrastructure unable to cope with the pressures, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh roped the Army in extending support to the civilian administration to tackle the pressing pandemic.

Singh, who held a virtual meeting to review the preparedness of the Ministry of Defence and Armed Forces to deal with the recent spike in Covid-19 cases across the country, called upon the Armed Forces to be in close contact with the state governments and be ready to provide any required assistance. He also delegated the emergency powers of procurement so that critical needs are procured

Singh earlier speaking to Army Chief General M M Naravane, Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar and DRDO chief G. Satheesh Reddy, asked them to offer available facilities and expertise to civilians during the Covid-19 crisis Singh also told the Army Chief that local commanders must reach out to CMs and offer all possible help.

After the defence minister's direction, Defence Secretary Kumar issued instructions that 67 Cantt Board Hospitals across India advised to ensure medical service to all patients -both Cantt residents and non-residents.

Also read: India sees worst spike in death toll, logs over 2 lakh Covid-19 cases for 6th straight day

On Monday, the defence minister had assured the Madhya Pradesh government that services at Army hospitals in the state will be made available to civilians during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic after Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan spoke to him over phone about opening the Army hospitals in the state for the general public.

In the video conferencing meeting, Singh urged Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs),Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) and DRDO to work on war footing to provide oxygen cylinders and extra beds to civil administration/state governments at the earliest.

Singh was informed that based on the On-Board Oxygen Generation Technology developed for LCA Tejas, a 1000 litre/minute capacity oxygen generation plants technology has been given to the industry and the Uttar Pradesh government has placed order of five such plants with the industry.

Defence Secretary Dr Ajay Kumar, Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Karambir Singh, Chief of Army Staff General M M Naravane, Director General Armed Forces Medical Services (AFMS) Surg Vice Admiral Rajat Datta, Secretary (Defence Production) Raj Kumar, Secretary Department of Defence R&D and Chairman Defence Research and Development Organisation Dr G Satheesh Reddy and other senior civil & military officers briefed Singh about the measures taken by AFMS, DRDO, DPSUs, OFB and and other organisations of Ministry of Defence such as National Cadet Corps (NCC) in providing aid to the civil administration in this hour of crisis.

DRDO Chairman Dr Reddy informed the minister that more plants can be supplied by the industry to cater to the hospital requirements. He further said SpO2 (Blood Oxygen Saturation) based supplemental oxygen delivery system developed for soldiers posted at extreme high-altitude areas can be used for Covid patients as their conditions become similar. The product will be available soon in the market from the industry as per technology provided by DRDO.

Singh was informed by the DRDO Chairman that a Covid-19 facility, developed by DRDO,has again been made functional in New Delhi and efforts are being made to soon increase the number of beds from 250 to 500.

Dr Reddy informed the meeting that the ESIC Hospital, which was converted to Covid hospital in Patna, has started functioning with 500 beds. He informed that work is on war footing to set up a 450-bed hospital in Lucknow, 750-bed hospital in Varanasi and 900-bed hospital in Ahmedabad.

The Union Minister also made a suggestion to utilise the services of vaccinated retired Armed Forces personnel to assist the civil administration/state governments to deal with the current situation.
It has been decided that the Army would consider offering treatment to civilians in its medical facilities, wherever possible, besides extending other assistance to civil administrations.

Army units in various states can get in touch with state administrations to understand their requirement like creation of additional capacities to deal with increasing volume of patients. The senior-most Army officer in a state would get in touch with the chief minister to understand the requirement and take forward the process, including offering to treat civilians wherever possible, they said.

The DRDO has already reopened a medical facility near the Delhi airport for treatment of Covid-19 patients. The facility has been made operational with 250 beds and their number is being increased to 1,000.