<span style="color: #222222;">Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has reiterated that the Armed Forces should provide all necessary assistance to civilian administration and asked the officials of the Defence Ministry and the three Services to closely monitor the progress of various initiatives. Mr Singh today reviewed the efforts and preparedness of Armed Forces and Ministry of Defence in strengthening India's fight against the COVID-19 Pandemic through video conferencing.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">Mr Singh was briefed that approximately 600 additional doctors are being mobilised through special measures such as calling to duty those who had retired in the last few years. The Indian Navy has deployed 200 Battle Field Nursing Assistants to assist in various hospitals. The National Cadet Corps, NCC has deployed 300 cadets and staff at various locations in Maharashtra, Uttarakhand and Haryana. A tele medicine service, to be operated by health veterans, will begin soon to provide consultation to those patients who remain at home. Indian Army has made available more than 720 beds for civilians in various states.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">The Defence Minister directed the Army to share the details with local administration at the state and district levels. Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat suggested that local Military commands have to be actively engaged in assisting the civil administration.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">Mr Singh was briefed that the 500-bed hospital being set up DRDO in Lucknow will start functioning in the next 2 to 3 days. Another hospital is also being set up in Varanasi which is scheduled to be completed by 5th of this month. DRDO Chairman Dr G Satheesh Reddy said, the first four out of 380 Oxygen Pressure Swing Adsorption, PSA plants being manufactured under PM CARES fund will be deployed in hospitals in New Delhi by next week.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">Mr Singh appreciated the logistics support being provided by the Armed Forces in transporting oxygen containers from abroad as well as within the country between places of consumption and production. While transport aircraft of the Indian Air Force, IAF carried out several sorties from Singapore, Bangkok, Dubai and within the country, Indian Navy dispatched four ships, two to West Asia and two to South East Asia to transport filled oxygen containers to India. As on today, IAF carried out 28 sorties from abroad, airlifting 47 oxygen containers with 830 Metric Tonnes of capacity, while from within the country, it carried out 158 sorties, airlifting 109 containers with 2,271 Metric Tonnes capacity. The Navy and the Air Force have also supplied nearly 500 portable oxygen cylinders from their stores to various civilian hospitals.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> <br />''Defence Public Sector Undertakings are procuring 28 oxygen plants and other medical equipment worth 40 crore rupees under Corporate Social Responsibility for supplying to various hospitals in states. Hindustan Aeronautics Limited has set up a 250-bed hospital in Bengaluru. Another 250-bed hospital is being set up in Lucknow.</span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">The meeting was attended by Defence Secretary Dr Ajay Kumar, Navy Chief Admiral Karambir Singh, Air Force Chief Air Chief Marshal R K S Bhadauria, Army Chief General M M Naravane and Director General Armed Forces Medical Services Surgeon Vice Admiral Rajat Datta including other senior officials.</span><br />''