The government has permitted oxygen manufacturing units to supply oxygen for industrial purposes on a temporary basis. This comes amid reducing COVID-19 cases in the country, which has been facing a severe second wave.
Certain industries such as MSMEs, industries producing oxygen, food processing plants, copper, aluminium, steel and infrastructure projects have been allowed by the government to use liquid oxygen, reported The Hindu.
However, the supply of oxygen to the industrial sector will be subject to limitations subject to the adequate supply of liquid oxygen supply to hospitals and other medical demands of the states and Union territories, according to PTI.
In April 2021, the Centre had banned the supply of oxygen for industrial purposes in several states except in nine specified industries amid a spike in COVID-19 cases and a severe shortage of oxygen.
Earlier this week, the Department of Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), under the commerce and industry ministry, had proposed that oxygen supply be resumed to industries which had not been exempted by the home ministry.
According to the Ministry of Home Affairs, the industries that made the requests were continuous process industries/plants such as furnaces, refineries, steel, aluminium, copper processing plants etc. which require continuous power supply, infrastructure projects and plants, Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) exporters of manufacturing sector requiring oxygen for production, and Food Processing Units.
(With inputs from The Hindu and PTI)
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