Modi Says India Turned Virus Crisis Into Opportunity, Cites Example of PPE Kit & N95 Mask Production

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday appealed to the country to believe in the power of self-reliance to fulfill the dream of making the 21st Century India its very own.

Modi said that as India battles the outbreak, one has to look at the pre- and post-COVID-19 world to see how a crisis can be turned into an opportunity. The Prime Minister highlighted the example of manufacturing of personal protective equipment (PPE) and N-95 face masks.

“When the crisis began, not a single PPE was being manufactured in India. N-95 masks were being manufactured in negligible quantity. Today, the situation is such that India is manufacturing 2 lakh PPE kits and N95 masks each per day. We are able to do so because India has turned a crisis into an opportunity. India’s vision to convert this crisis into an opportunity is going to prove influential as we become more self-reliant,” the PM said.

The shortage of PPE kits had led to severe criticism of the government and the government had said that the supply of PPE was taking time as domestic manufacturers were being readied to produce them.

Modi said the definition of self-reliance has undergone a change in the globalised world and when India talks about it, it is different from being self-centred.

He said India’s culture considers the world as one family, and progress in India is part of, and also contributes to, progress in the whole world.

Modi said the world trusts that India has a lot to contribute towards the development of the entire humanity.