New Delhi,  A total of 24 different categories of items numbering nearly 40 lakhs have been distributed to 86 institutions in 31 States and Union Territories, said Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHF) on Tuesday.

Major categories of equipment include BiPAP Machines, Oxygen (Oxygen Concentrators, Oxygen Cylinders, PSA Oxygen Plants, Pulse Oximeters), Drugs (Flaviparivir and Remdesivir), PPE (Coveralls, N-95 masks and gowns).

The medical items started coming in as donations from different countries after the sudden rise in Covid cases across the different parts of the country, via Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

The materials are being given by countries due to the immediate and urgent requirements in different parts of the country.

MoHF said the help is "over and above what government of India is already providing, and is thus an additionality for the states and UTs".

As the different tranches are coming in, the Ministry said, the rest of the states and UTs will also be covered in the coming days.

The institutions which have received the equipment are eight from Delhi and NCR (LHMC Delhi, Safdarjung Hospital, RML Hospital, AIIMS Delhi, DRDO, 2 hospitals in Delhi (Moti Nagar & Pooth Kalan), NITRD Delhi and ITBP Noida); two in North East (NEIGRIHMS Shillong and RIMS Imphal); four in north (AIIMS Bathinda, PGI Chandigarh, DRDO Dehradun, AIIMS Jhajjar); eleven in east (AIIMS Rishikesh, AIIMS Rae Bareli, AIIMS Deoghar, AIIMS Raipur, AIIMS Bhubaneswar, AIIMS Patna, DRDO Patna, AIIMS Kalyani, DRDO Varanasi, DRDO Lucknow, District Hospital Pilibhit); and four in west (AIIMS Jodhpur, DRDO Dehradun, DRDO Ahmedabad, Govt Satellite Hospital Jaipur).

One institute in Central (AIIMS Bhopal); three in south (AIIMS Mangalagiri, AIIMS Bibinagar, JIPMER Puducherry); and five in Central government and Public Sector Units (CGHS, CRPF, SAIL, Railways, ICMR) have been allocated these equipment.

A cell was created in the Ministry under Additional Secretary (Health), MoHFW to coordinate the receipt and allocation of foreign Covid relief material as grants, aid and donations. This Cell started functioning on April 26 this year and comprises of one Joint Secretary on deputation from Ministry of Education, two Additional Secretaries level officers from MEA, Chief Commissioner Customs, Economic Advisor from Ministry of Civil Aviation, Technical Advisor Dte. GHS, Representatives from HLL, two Joint Secretaries from MoHFW and Secretary General along with other representatives from IRCS.

Later on, the MoHF, said the supplies coming from private companies and entities also started routing through the Niti Aayog and are handled by this cell.

The Indian customs is sensitive to the need for availability of Covid related imports including Oxygen and Oxygen related equipment and are working round the clock to fast track and clear the goods on arrival and lead to expeditious clearance within hours.

For the expeditious clearance of these materials on fast-track basis, the goods are given high Priority for clearance by the customs systems for processing over other goods, and nodal officers also get alert on email for monitoring and clearance. Indian customs have waived basic Customs Duty and Health cess on goods identified for fighting Covid. When imported free of cost and distributed freely, based on the state government certification, IGST is also waived.

Further, for import of oxygen concentrators for personal use, IGST has been reduced from 28 per cent to 12 per cent.