New Delhi, August 14: Medical syringe major Hindustan Syringes and Medical Devices Ltd (HMD) on Saturday announced that it has achieved its target to create capacities to produce over 1 billion auto-disable (AD) syringes for Covid vaccination. The syringe major said that it has also achieved a milestone of producing over 1 crore pieces of assorted size of syringes daily.

"Atmanirbhar Bharat was the centerpiece of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Independence Day address last year and this year on India's 75th Independence Day, we are delighted that HMD has simultaneously reached two significant milestones towards it," Rajiv Nath, Managing Director of Hindustan Syringes & Medical Devices Ltd, said in a statement.

"HMD's top priority right now is to help the government to combat the pandemic. It had been ensuring continuity of the supply chain and its manufacturing plants to ensure no shortages in India for its critically needed disposable devices during the Covid crisis," Nath added. Full COVID-19 Vaccination or Negative RT-PCR Report Mandatory for Entering Punjab From August 15.

The company said that it has 'made India proud' with its global recognition as a 'key international supplier' of critically needed syringes to the COVAX facility of WHO (via UNICEF), Brazil and even Japan for Covid vaccination.

Last year in December, HMD had dispatched 14 crore AD syringes to the COVAX stockpile facility created in anticipation of supporting the global worldwide vaccination drive.

"This is in addition to our ongoing global contractual commitments to support global vaccination projects for 0.1ml and 0.5 ml AD Kojak syringes in developing world whether for yellow fever or measles or Hepatitis B or pentavalent or BCG etc in addition to Covid vaccination requirements of 0.3ml AD syringes for Pfizer's vaccines," Nath said.

"However this year our focus is India as our country's needs come first. We have reserved over two-thirds capacity for India and continue to decline orders from many overseas new potential buyers" Nath added.

From 50 crore pieces per annum capacity of 0.5 ml AD syringes in June 2020, the company said it increased production rate to 80 crore per annum in May 2021 and currently they have achieved target capacity of producing 100 crore AD syringes. "And hopefully 125 crore pieces per annum by March 2022, for this one size alone."

The company said that over 440 million syringes will be supplied by HMD for India's massive vaccination drive by September of which 365 million were supplied till July this year alongside supplies of Dispovan to the private hospitals and vaccination clinics.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 14, 2021 05:50 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).