Govt advises to buy PPE kit only from approved producers

New Delhi : The Union health ministry on Monday issued a fresh advisory mentioning that people must buy personal protection equipment (PPE) kits only from approved labs identified by the government to ensure quality of kits. This comes after learning that there are many substandard kits are being sold in the market. 

"The products under reference have no relevance to the procurement being made by the Central Government. HLL Lifecare Limited (HLL), the procuring agency of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, is procuring PPE coveralls from manufacturers/suppliers only after getting their coveralls tested and approved by one of the eight labs nominated by the Ministry of Textiles (MoT) for testing the same. It is only after their products qualify in the test prescribed by the ministry’s technical committee, that they are procured," said health ministry in a statement.

"Further, HLL is also undertaking random sampling of the supplies being made, for which a testing protocol has been devised. In case of any failure, the company is being disqualified for any supplies. All the States/UTs have been asked to ensure procurement which is being carried out at their level after following the prescribed testing for PPEs from MoT nominated labs," it said.

To ensure quality of PPE kits, the ministry of textile had last month tightened norms for permits issued to coverall makers, according to which any domestic manufacturer of a coverall applying for approval certifications will have to attach a notarised affidavit declaring that they are not traders but manufacturers, and that they understand that if they do not follow the norms, their certifications could be cancelled.