After many media claimed that India’s has doubled the export of oxygen nearly 9,300 metric tonnes in the first three months of 2021, Centre has rubbished the claim and termed it "absolutely false" and part of "malicious propaganda", said government sources on Wednesday.

Government source told ANI that it had exported scarce medical oxygen during the pandemic year of 2020-21. This is absolutely false and industrial oxygen exports are being mistaken as medical oxygen.

A recent Moneycontrol and News 18 report revealed that even as the pandemic raged, India had more than doubled oxygen exports. The article cites official data to explain that in the first three quarters of FY21, 9294 MT of oxygen (in the form of liquid oxygen) was exported from India, primarily to Bangladesh. As per official data, in the April-January period of FY21, exports were more than double that of the previous year.

The sources in government further added that there are two categories of exports of liquid oxygen that are medical and others (industrial). During April-February 2020-21, India indeed exported 9884 MT of industrial oxygen, but the amount of medical oxygen exported was only 12 MT.

The government source asserted that a majority of these industrial oxygen export was in December and January when medical oxygen consumption reduced to 1418 MT/day from 2675 MT/day in September-this against near 7000 MT/day capacity resulted in no threat to medical oxygen supply while protecting jobs in oxygen industry.

As per the government stats, India exported 15,000 MT tonnes of oxygen in 2016-17 while the export of medical oxygen was 229.82 in the same period.

In the next few years, the demand for oxygen reduced, resulting in a fall in export. In 2019-20 India exported 4,328 MT of oxygen while medical oxygen export during the same period was only 9.62 MT.

The reply came in the wake of criticism from opposition. Congress leaders Priyanka Gandhi and Randeep Surjewala launched a blistering attack at the Modi government blaming it for the acute shortage of medical oxygen across the country.

Government have said that it is trying to provide the medical oxygen to many hospitals as they have launched oxygen express.

Amid the second wave of the pandemic, India has been running short on Medical oxygen, which a crucial resource in treating critically ill COVID-19 patients.

Image Source: PTI