India restrict syringe export for 3 months

With India aiming to vaccinate its entire adult population of 94 crores by end of 2021, the government today announced the imposition of Quantitative Restrictions (QR) on the export of three categories of syringes, used in administering Covid-19 vaccines, for three months to ensure their availability in the domestic market.

The categories of syringes are 0.5ml/1ml AD (auto-disable) syringes, 0.5ml/1ml/2ml/3ml disposable syringes, and 1ml/2ml/3ml RUP (re-use prevention) syringes, the Health Ministry said in a statement.

The statement made it clear that it is not an export ban on any kind of syringes and is only a quantitative restriction on the export of certain types of specified syringes for a limited duration.

The syringes of denominations and types other than those mentioned above are not covered under the quantitative restriction, it added.

India's domestic vaccine and syringe manufacturers have played an important role in implementing the world's largest Covid vaccination programme across the country.