India is facing an unprecedented surge in covid cases(about 400,000 every day) and related fatalities(about 3500 every day) thanks to more transmissive variants, political and religious gatherings. The second wave of covid has shook the country's foundations. Hospitals are overwhelmed, crematoriums are working round the clock. There is a shortage of many medical supplies ranging from vaccines and nebulizers to medical oxygen. One of the most discussed shortages in the media is the oxygen crisis.
Source:IndiaSpend
How bad is the situation?
Thousands have lost lives because they were not able to receive medical oxygen on time. Some oxygen resellers are fleeing the business entirely. Oxygen production plants are forced to divert industrial oxygen supply to a 100% medical oxygen supply. Despite the governments efforts to increase oxygen production, the demand and supply don't match and there is a shortage of medical oxygen. This oxygen shortage has now become a national crisis, a crisis that could have been averted.
How did we get into an oxygen crisis?
India usually produces about 7000 metric tonnes of oxygen per day and has been struggling to increase it's capacity. Mostly due to red tape and regulations, a legacy of the License Raj.
Source:Wikipedia
How does this effect oxygen production?
Indian Importers need a license to import medical supplies. Indian manufactures need a government permit to open an oxygen production plant, if the oxygen is medical grade, you need one more permit. You usually have to wait for weeks to get these permits. Prices of oxygen are capped at INR 25.71 which choked smaller manufacturers, who make a bulk of Indian Industrial output, from expanding production. While the big complicated and slow license system keeps away new production plants.
Source:ETHealthWorld
At the start of the second wave when oxygen shortage became a issue, Steel industries, hospitals and other chemical industries were ready to produce medical oxygen to help the country which was grappling with shortage but couldn't do so as they did not have licenses and government permits. These measures which were made with good intentions of "protecting consumers" has decimated the very people's chances of survival.
Source:makemebetter.net
A Ray of Hope?
During this fiasco, the top courts of the country summoned the center government and dictated them to
ease availability of permits and asked them to arrange for medical oxygen by hook or crook and save lives. Since then some regulations have been relaxed.
While small industries couldn't expand because of price caps, large scale industries have stepped up by mobilizing their huge capital towards increased oxygen supply to a war footing. Now about 11% of oxygen is supplied by Reliance Industries Limited(RIL) which is one of the largest petrochemicals company in the country.
At the same time the black market for medical oxygen is catering to people who have money and do not want to wait in long lines and face a shortage.
Foreign Aid
Source:axios.com
The international community too has shown solidarity with India and has sent medical supplies including Remdesivir, oxygen concentrators, PPE kits, vaccines etc.
India, a country that hasn't accepted foreign aid for about 2 decades, accepted aid due to the extremely dire situation.
Conclusion:
This was a crisis caused by government's wish to run everything by command and control, a wish to dictate economic output, a wish to rule not to serve. The crisis was truly a legacy of the infamous License Raj. Hopefully the international aid India has received might avert the crisis and save hundreds and thousands of lives but this surely serves us as a cautionary tale of how centralized control and command can kill both Life and Liberty.
The loss of 24 lives due to oxygen shortage in my own state triggered me to find the causes of this shortage, read about them and helped me write this essay.
Thank You.