Punjab emerges as manufacturing hub for Covid protective kits

Ruchika M Khanna

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 9

As the need for PPE (personal protection equipment) kits rises among medical staff as well as other frontline warriors engaged in a fight against the Covid-19 pandemic, Punjab’s textile industry has transformed itself into a PPE manufacturing hub, getting orders worth hundreds of crores from all over the country.

As many as 18 textile units in the state have got orders worth Rs256 crore, for supplying PPE kits to HLL Lifecare, that has been tasked to procure kits. While the major chunk of the order is being fulfilled by Phagwara-based JCT (10 lakh kits, worth Rs157.50 crore), 17 other companies, mostly in Ludhiana, have got orders to supply 15 lakh kits worth Rs98.50 crore from HLL Lifecare, besides orders from other state governments like Orissa.

Information available from the state Industry Department showed that of the 40 units that had got the approval, 36 were located in Ludhiana. Among them are shawl, garment and even fabric manufacturers, who seeing a good business opportunity as well as the sudden immediate need for the kits, went ahead and got the necessary certifications.

Mahesh Khanna, general manager, Industries Department, Ludhiana, told The Tribune that 40 more units were awaiting approvals for manufacturing. He said five units were also manufacturing the fabric needed for PPE kits.

Sources said against the production cost of Rs350 to Rs400, the selling price ranged between Rs635 and Rs1,500. Gaurav Khullar of Pirana International, who has bagged an order, said it was at the instance of the state government that he along with many others decided to take the plunge. “It is difficult to manufacture these suits, as it is cumbersome to tailor. Initially, our staff was not trained for the job, and the production was slow. Now that they have got a hang of it and production is up,” he said.

It has taken the state government less than a month to get units to start manufacturing these much-needed suits. The state government took the initiative of getting approvals for these units from South India Textile Research Association (SITRA), which has led to the state becoming a major PPE manufacturing hub.

Interestingly, many others are trying to cash in on the business opportunity and about 50 other units are manufacturing the kits and selling in the open market.

The sources said most of them did not have the requisite approvals and certification, and the kits supplied were of substandard quality. This explains why the kits sold by the approved units vary between Rs635 and Rs1,500 per kit, while the ones made by these unapproved units are being sold for Rs80 and Rs100.

Additional Chief Secretary, Vini Mahajan, said the unapproved units may be the ones awaiting approvals. “In Punjab, we are buying only from the units approved by either SITRA or DRDO,” she said.