NEW DELHI: With an eye on a likely third Covid-19 wave, Delhi government has been ramping up oxygen production, storage and transportation infrastructure in the city. On Tuesday, the cabinet approved the Medical Oxygen Production Promotion Policy, 2021, which aims at making the capital self-reliant in oxygen production, along with a provision for incentives.
In a statement, the government said the policy was aimed at meeting any crisis or medical emergency in the future.
“Medical Oxygen Production Promotion Policy, 2021 has been approved. It provides several incentives to the private sector to set up oxygen production plants, invest in tankers, and set up storage facilities. This will help improve oxygen availability in Delhi, which became a huge bottleneck in handling the last Covid wave,” chief minister Arvind Kejriwal tweeted.
As part of the policy objectives, production of medical oxygen would be increased through setting up either new manufacturing enterprises or expanding the production capacity of existing units for uninterrupted oxygen supply to hospitals and nursing homes during a health crisis caused by Covid-19 or any other medical emergency.
The target includes setting up of liquid oxygen manufacturing facilities of minimum 50 metric tonnes capacity up to 100 MT, non-captive oxygen generation plants (PSA/ASU technology) of 10 to 50 MT capacity up to 100 MT and captive oxygen generation plants (PSA/ASU) of minimum 500 litres per minute capacity at hospitals and nursing homes with a total capacity of 200 MT.
Getting cryogenic oxygen tankers of minimum 10 MT carrying capacity up to a total capacity of 500 MT and setting up of storage tanks of minimum 10 MT capacity up to 1,000 MT would be other targets.
Power subsidy would be provided to the oxygen generation plants at Rs 4 per unit for the first five years. Full reimbursement of gross State Goods and Services Tax would be made within a month of commissioning of the plant.
Applications for grant of subsidy or incentive shall be invited within 15 days from when the policy is notified. In case the total capacity applied for exceeds the target capacity, the selection shall be made through a draw of lots. In case the total capacity applied for is less, all applications would be considered and a 15-day window for applications would be opened every month till six months from the date of notification of the policy until the target capacity is achieved.
