The Union Home Secretary has written to Chief Secretaries of States and Administrators of Union Territories onn 18 April that they should issue necessary instructions to all authorities concerned in their States/Union Territories to take necessary measures to prohibit supply of oxygen for industrial purpose, except in nine industries as stated in the letter of the Union Health & Family Welfare Secretary dated 18.04.2021.

This is keeping in view the rapid rise in COVID-19 cases in various parts of the country and the resultant rapid demand for medical oxygen, particularly in high-burden States of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, etc.

The letter of the Union Home Secretary follows the decision taken by the Central Government on Sunday, on the recommendations of the Empowered Group-II, that the supply of oxygen for industrial purposes by manufacturers and suppliers is prohibited (except in nine industries) forthwith from 22.04.2021 till further orders, so as to augment supply for medical oxygen in the country and to save precious lives.

The nine industries exempted from the ban are:

• Ampoules and vials
• Pharmaceutical
• Petroleum refinaries
• Steel Plants
• Nuclear energy facilities
• Oxygen cylinder manufacturers
• Waste water treatment plants
• Food and water purification
• Process industries which require uninterrupted operation of fumes processes