New Delhi: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh Friday reviewed the Covid-19 situation in the country and extended emergency financial powers of up to Rs 5 crore to top medical officers in the armed forces as they ramp up support to the civil administration in fighting the deadly second wave of the pandemic.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) also gave an extension to Short Service Commission (SSC) doctors in the Armed Forces Medical Service (AFMS) till 31 December to tide over the current deluge of cases. This will augment the AFMS strength by 238 more doctors.
Emergency financial powers of up to Rs 5 crore were extended to AFMS director general and equivalent ranks for Covid related decision making process.
Similarly, financial powers of up to Rs 3 crore have been extended to major general rank officers and up to Rs 2 crore to brigadier rank officers.
These powers have been delegated up to 30 September with a provision for revision or extension to expedite procurement of medical items, materials, stores and provisioning of various services for tackling Covid cases, the ministry said in a statement.
The MoD also took a decision to airlift 23 mobile oxygen generation plants from Germany that will be deployed in AFMS hospitals catering to Covid patients. Each plant has a capacity to produce 40 litres of oxygen per minute and 2,400 litres an hour. At this rate, it can cater to 20-25 patients round the clock.
“The advantage of these plants is that they are easily portable. These oxygen generating plants are expected to arrive in India within a week,” defence ministry spokesperson Bharat Bhushan said.
Also read: In UP, oxygen is now exclusive for hospitals. Patients in home isolation not getting any
IAF ramps up operations in fight against Covid
Meanwhile, the Indian Air Force (IAF) has ramped up its operations to help in the country’s fight against the surging Covid wave.
The IAF carried out multiple sorties from various parts of the country to airlift oxygen containers, cylinders, essential medicines and equipment required for setting up and sustaining Covid hospitals and facilities.
Its transport aircraft like the C-17, C-130J, IL-76, An-32 and Avro have been pressed into service. The Chinook and Mi-17 helicopters are on standby.
According to the ministry, tasks undertaken include airlift of doctors and nursing staff from Kochi, Mumbai, Visakhapatnam and Bengaluru for various hospitals at Delhi.
The C-17 and IL-76 aircraft have started airlifting big empty oxygen tankers from their place of use to the filling stations across the country to speed up the distribution of much needed oxygen.
“The IAF is lifting empty containers to areas where they can be filled. The aircraft cannot carry liquefied oxygen because of security reasons,” explained an IAF officer who didn’t wish to be named.
In addition to this, the C-17 and IL-76 have transported large quantities of load comprising bio safety cabinets and autoclave machines for setting up of an additional Covid test facility in Leh.
Also read: B.1.117 to B.1.618, India has many Covid variants causing infections. Here are the dominant ones