Govt allows export of PPE kits; monthly quota fixed at 50 lakh units

New Delhi, Jun 29 (KNN) The government on Monday allowed export of personal protection equipment (PPE) medical coveralls with a cap of 50 lakh per month as the country strives to achieve self-reliance while battling the COVID-19 crisis.

"A monthly quota of 50 lakh PPE medical coveralls for COVID-19 units has been fixed for issuance of export licences to the eligible applicants as per the criteria to be separately issued in a trade notice," Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) said in a notice.

All other items that are part of PPE kits continue to remain prohibited, it added.

The product was banned for export earlier, but it has now been moved to the restricted category.

Earlier this month, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari of MSME had asked the Commerce Ministry to allow exports of PPE kits, as the country has ramped up its capacity significantly over the last two months.

“We have tremendous capacity now. We don’t need to import PPE kits from China but we can now start exporting it," he said, speaking at the launch a report prepared by National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP) and Council on Energy Environment and Water (CEEW)-- Jobs, Growth and Sustainability: a new social contract for India’s recovery.

Similarly, domestic manufacturers have also received orders to export sanitizers, he added.