The Centre on Monday allowed the export of Personal Protective Equipment, or PPE, medical coveralls amid the coronavirus crisis, but set a monthly limit on the exports.

Medical coveralls, completely prohibited for export earlier, have now been put in the “restricted” category, according to an order issued by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade. “A monthly quote of 50 lakh PPE medical coveralls for Covid-19 units has been fixed for issuance of export licenses to the eligible applicants....as per the criteria to be separately issued in a Trade Notice,” the government’s order read.

The government added that ban on export of other Personal Protective Equipment kit components like goggles, face shield masks and gloves will continue.

Union minister Piyush Goyal said that the relaxation in export policy for coveralls will provide an impetus to ‘Make in India exports”.

In March, the Centre had banned exports of a host of medical equipment, including sanitisers, ventilators and surgical masks.

The change in export policy for the PPE component came amid a worrying surge in the number of coronavirus cases in India. India reported 19,459 new coronavirus cases and 380 deaths on Monday . The country now has 5,48,318 cases. India’s toll has gone up to 16,475.

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