Social media posts mislead on reasons for India s lack of oxygen plants
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Social media posts mislead on reasons for India s lack of oxygen plants
(AFP) - As India’s coronavirus disaster deepened, Facebook and Twitter posts, including a tweet from a top Bollywood actress, accused the chief ministers of Maharashtra and Delhi states of failing to build sufficient oxygen plants despite being given funding in January 2021. But the claim lacks important context: although the oxygen plants mentioned in the posts were indeed not constructed in time, the funding had actually been allocated to the Central Medical Supply Store, part of India’s Ministry of Health; official documents show the state governments were not involved.
PM-CARES Fund Allocates Rs 201.58 Crore For Installation Of 162 Medical Oxygen Generation Plants Across The Country
Source: The Hindu BusinessLine
The Prime Ministerâs Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situation (PM-CARES) Fund Trust has allocated Rs 201.68 crore to install 162 additional dedicated Pressure Swing Adsoprtion (PSA) Medical Oxygen generation plants of 154.19 MT capacity in public health facilities in the country, said an official release on Tuesday (5 January) .
The Central Medical Supply Store (CMSS), an autonomous body under the Ministry of Health, will be in charge of the procurement.
According to the release, the total project cost includes Rs 137.33 crore towards supply and commissioning of the plants and Management fee of Central Medical Supply Store (CMSS) and around Rs 64.25 crore towards Comprehensive Annual Maintenance Contract (CAMC).