India is currently focusing on finding solutions to deal with the deadly second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, and several organisations, private players, governments, and institutions across the globe are extending their support to India.
Tech startups from across the world are working on innovative solutions to help India overcome the crisis. California-based manufacturing and product sourcing platform Manufactured is looking to help India get access to oxygen.
At a time when the country is dealing with the scarcity of oxygen supply for COVID-19 positive patients, Manufactured has announced that it can deliver up to 20,000 oxygen concentrators to India within seven to 10 days.
Speaking with YourStory, Pranay Srinivasan, Founder and CEO of Manufactured, said that the company has been fighting the COVID-19 crisis by providing PPE kits in the US for over a year. Now, the company is looking to help India by sourcing oxygen concentrators from China and ship them to India.
Oxygen concentrators, also known as oxygenators, do not store oxygen in them. The medical device takes ambient air, filters out nitrogen and other gases to retain oxygen, and supplies it to the patient.
Pranay says that the concentrators are priced between $300 to $550 per unit. He adds that Manufactured is now looking to partner with organisations for the purchasing and delivery of the machines.
“I am just looking to help not sure who needs to buy although a few people are on email and WhatsApp conversations with me,” Pranay says.
He also said that Manufactured can also arrange charters for the delivery of the concentrators. He added that logistics and supply chain unicorn Delhivery has also reached out to Manufactured for supporting the logistic needs.
The scarcity of oxygen in India has been a growing concern and several players are working to solve the issue. Delhivery recently announced that it will be chartering two planes from China to import oxygen compressors.
Apart from this, a PTI report revealed that Amazon India has also joined hands with ACT Grants, Temasek Foundation, Pune Platform for COVID-19 Response (PPCR), and other partners to airlift over 8,000 oxygen concentrators and 500 BiPAP machines from Singapore. The shipping is expected to be completed by April 30.
The rising number of daily COVID-19 infections is putting pressure on the availability of hospital beds, oxygen, and medicines. However, the country is doing its best to fight back the crisis with innovations.