11th June 2021, Kanpur, UP: The Startup Incubation and Innovation Centre (SIIC), IIT Kanpur, today said it has raised funding from ICICI Securities, one of India’s leading financial services company, for Mission Bharat O₂ (MBO2), to support domestic manufacturing of oxygen concentrators on scale.  With this project, SIIC IIT Kanpur aims to make the Indian healthcare manufacturing ecosystem self-reliant.

Mission Bharat O₂ is a step towards the larger vision of SIIC to nurture a self-sustainable healthcare system in India.  The project, led by Prof. Amitabha Bandyopadhyay, Professor In-charge, Innovation & Incubation, IIT Kanpur, Srikant Sastri, Director, FIRST-IITK and Chairman, I3G Advisory Network, and Rahul Patel, Head of Strategic Initiatives, SIIC IIT Kanpur, will support local manufacturers to develop oxygen concentrators. Through a three pronged approach – Rapid Product Development, Centralized Sourcing and Decentralized Manufacturing – the project aims to deliver 20,000 indigenous yet high quality oxygen concentrators & oxygen plants for India’s emergency response to COVID-19 pandemic. Through MBO2, SIIC aims to create decentralised manufacturing pockets where Indian manufacturers will develop oxygen concentrators on a rapid scale.  

ICICI Securities, has nurtured a legacy of contributing towards sustainable development initiatives across India. It’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) efforts show a deep commitment towards nation building through a variety of initiatives. To help the county fight the pandemic, ICICI Securities in 2020, had joined hands with IIT Kanpur for developing affordable, indigenous ventilators to save lives.

The concentrator cost is at least 40% lower than comparable imported products. SIIC has already selected eight manufacturing partners from 70+ participants who competed to manufacture this indigenous oxygen plant and oxygen concentrators. Product testing has been completed and by June 20^th 2021, daily run rate of 100 units per manufacturer per day is expected to be achieved.

Commenting on SIIC’s vocal for local vision, Prof. Amitabha Bandyopadhyay says, “The SIIC team at IIT Kanpur aims to turn the country into a manufacturing hub by supporting cutting-edge research and development. Our incubated companies have contributed immensely since COVID-19 struck India. We want to go a step further to build a nexus of local manufacturers who will put India on the map of the global manufacturing hubs. The support from ICICI Securities is a much-needed contribution in that direction.“

As a coveted funding partner, ICICI securities’ generous support will pivot SIIC’s efforts towards efficient execution of the Mission Bharat O2.

“Providing timely and affordable healthcare facilities is a pressing need. ICICI Securities is honoured to further extend our CSR partnership with IIT Kanpur this year too for this crucial project which would help all players in the healthcare ecosystem – from the patients to manufacturers by providing affordable yet high quality, indigenous oxygen concentrators. We are inspired by their vision to make India a self-reliant nation in life-saving medical equipment by bringing together various players for a larger social cause,” said Mr. Vijay Chandok, MD & CEO, ICICI Securities.