Union Textile Minister Smriti Zubin Irani on Friday in a press statement said that the concerted efforts of the government, industry and multiple stakeholders turned the PPE crisis into an opportunity for India. ALSO READ | Farmers' Protest: Kangana Ranaut Attacks Priyanka Chopra, Diljit Dosanjh; Claims They Are 'Misleading, Encouraging' Agitation

Delivering the Keynote address at a Webinar 'A Movement Towards AtmaNirbhar Bharat,' the minister said that this successful journey has become an inspiration for other indigenous manufacturers, and the way forward is for other sectors to replicate this success story.

The ministry of Textiles quoted Irani saying that "even though the thrust on PPE manufacturing was necessitated by the health crisis, the success of PPE has opened new doors for indigenous manufacturers in other industries as well."

Crediting the industry for entrusting the government and rising to the challenge in a limited time, she added, "No one in the industry asked for a subsidy, nor the govt. offered it. Another thing I’m proud of is that in a lockdown state, we have ensured 5 lakh sustainable direct jobs. That is the part of the PPE and testing swab revolution that has not been highlighted".

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Further in taday's session, Irani informed that the scale of manufacturing PPE suits and masks has increased at such an exponential rate that by October, over 60 million PPEs were produced domestically, of which over 20 million PPE suits were exported. Over 150 million N-95 masks were produced, of which over 40 million masks were exported. She said that starting from zero, today we have over 1100 companies for PPE suits and over200 domestic manufacturers for N-95 masks.