News : NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant recently provided insights about medical supplies being received from abroad to battle the pandemic, and allocations being made to the states.

DETAILS

How are foreign supplies being managed? Who can order or receive these supplies?

There are three channels — government to government, private to government, and donations to states/NGOs and civil society organisations.

1) In government-to-government transactions:

• Consignee – Indian Red Cross Society
• Aid will routed through Ministry of External Affairs to Ministry of Health and Family Welfare for allocation to states.
• There is a standard operating procedure (SOP) for allocation, which takes into account the case load and other factors such as whether the region serves as a medical hub, is resource low or geographically disconnected.

2) In Private-to-government transaction:

• Through portal COVAID (managed by NITI Aayog).
• There is a blanket exemption from Customs/IGST and donors can fill their intent of donation, specifics, consignment number, etc.
• The aid is received by IRCS and allocations done by MoHFW.
• The process is transparent and allows donors to track status of their shipments.

3) Through states, NGOs and civil society organisations

• Directly to those impacted by Covid-19
• A nodal officer has been appointed for each state/UT and a pre-information form can be filled which will help facilitate speedy customs clearance.