In order to supply 50,000 ‘Made in India’ ventilators to the government-run COVID-19 hospitals in all states and Union Territories (UTs), the PM CARES Fund Trust has allocated Rs 2,000 crore. Of the total ventilators, 30,000 are being manufactured by the Bharat Electronics Limited. The remaining 20,000 ventilators are being manufactured by the AgVa Healthcare (10,000), AMTZ Basic (5,650), AMTZ High End (4,000) and Allied Medical (350), the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said in a statement.
So far 2,923 ventilators have been manufactured, out of which 1,340 have already been delivered to the states and UTs.
The prominent recipients include Maharashtra (275), Delhi (275), Gujarat (175), Bihar (100), Karnataka (90), Rajasthan (75). By the end of June 2020, the PMO said, additional 14,000 ventilators will be delivered to all states and UTs.
Further, a sum of Rs 1,000 crore has already been released to states and UTs for the welfare of the migrant labourers. The distribution of the fund is based on the formula of 50 per cent weightage for the population as per 2011 census, 40 per cent weightage for a number of positive COVID-19 cases and 10 per cent for equal distribution among all the states and UTs. This assistance is to be used for arranging accommodation, food, medical treatment and transportation of the migrants, the PMO said.
The main recipients of the grant are Maharashtra (181 crore), Uttar Pradesh (103 crore), Tamil Nadu (83 crore), Gujarat (66 crore), Delhi (55 crore), West Bengal (53 crore), Bihar (51 crore), Madhya Pradesh (50 crore), Rajasthan (50 crore) and Karnataka (34 crore).
The Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund (PM CARES Fund) trust was established amid the COVID-19 pandemic crisis to help affected people in any kind of emergency. This is a public charitable trust. Prime Minister is the ex-officio Chairman of the PM CARES Fund and Minister of Defence, Minister of Home Affairs and Minister of Finance, Government of India are ex-officio Trustees of the Fund.
