After the United States President Donald Trump, now a total of 30 nations including SAARC nations ask India to lift the export ban on the Hydroxychloroquine drug. Hydroxychloroquine has emerged as a drug that has shown anecdotal evidence of curing COVID-19 patients at a critical stage.
Following the COVID-19 outbreak in the nation, India had halted all sorts of medical exports from the nation. Earlier this week, United States President Donald Trump had called up Prime Minister Narendra Modi to allow the export order of the United States. The Prime Minister has lifted the export ban for the orders of America alone. President Donald Trump has been advocating for the drug for over a week and has even called it a ‘game-changer.’
30 More Nations Approach India
Post the approval of the United States, several other nations that have been hit by the pandemic have approached India to supply the Hydroxychloroquine. Among these are the partners of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation.
According to reports, the update of the stock of Hydroxychloroquine will be intimidated to the Ministry of External Affairs who will then take a call on the export. Despite India being the leading manufacturer of the drug, there is a scare of India losing out on the market. The Indian government is likely to take a holistic view of the matter considering various other factors. Among various other factors, as per an official, the critical factors are the geo-strategy of the nation and the issue of their neighboring countries.
India is one of the largest exporters of the drug that is primarily used to treat malaria and knee pains. Annually, India exports around $50 million worth of the drug. According to the ministry of external affairs, several countries have asked India to lift the ban while some have asked out to reach the manufacturers directly.
The Commerce and Industry Ministry is also analyzing India’s own requirements and the need to ramp up production in the coming weeks. The cabinet secretary had chaired a meeting on Sunday regarding the matter and is also likely to hold a meet on Tuesday before arriving at the decision.
