While 2021 began on an optimistic notice with a rapid rebound of the Indian economic system, the second wave of the pandemic derailed progress due to the great loss of human lives. More than three lakh cases are reported daily across the country, due to which there is a severe shortage of beds and oxygen, putting health services under extreme pressure.
The magnitude of the disaster prompted relevant stakeholders to collaborate on the ecosystem of infrastructure and tackle the state of affairs by exploring hacks to address issues that use limited resources.
The onset of coronavirus in 2020 accelerated digitization and redefined the way we live and work. The lockdown has led to suspension of the brick-and-mortar model of training and heralded a shift towards online learning. Making money by working from home model became a norm as more companies warmed to the notion of versatile working.
Personal conferences at workplaces have been replaced by video-conferencing on MS staff/Zoom/Skype, and shopping has been revolutionized using AI, Augmented Actuality and Digital Actuality.
Face-to-face consultations provided a solution to teleconsultation in healthcare. Many leading educational institutions and startups came to the fore by developing modern units and applied sciences to fight the threat of transmission while digitizing existing services.
Nevertheless, the second wave of the disease was more deadly and prompted the enterprise ecosystem to respond with several path-breaking initiatives to fight the hardships of patients.
In a heartfelt effort, real estate corporations and resident welfare associations in condominiums took the lead in setting up isolation wards in collaboration with hospitals.
With the current health services coming under pressure, startups have scaled up products, reminiscent of low-cost transportable ventilators, especially with anti-microbial coatings, UV sterilization technology, drones to adhere to social distancing norms, etc. innovation led.
Additionally promoted the crowdsourcing initiative which marked a collaborative effort to tackle the disaster. Several corporate bodies have also played a leading role in organizing digital hackathons to develop innovative alternatives to meet the many challenges to come.
The federal government’s initiative offered an enabling framework to catalyze innovation amidst these unprecedented circumstances. As an example, the Department of Science and Expertise, under its initiative, aims to develop applied science in the fields of oxygen innovation, transportable solutions, related medical devices, clinical, informatics, to meet the various challenges posed by the second wave.
Known as startup. NS. Bihar became the first state to plan its own oxygen manufacturing coverage. This coverage entitles the entrepreneur to a 30 per cent capital subsidy for setting up oxygen manufacturing services, with a maximum assistance of up to Rs 25 crore for cryogenic oxygen crops.
As per the policy, oxygen cylinder manufacturers will be entitled to financial assistance up to Rs 75 crore. Several organizations partnered with state governments to facilitate access to correct and eliminate misinformation on social media platforms.
It is worth mentioning that innovation is not limited to product development only; The second wave of current B2B reengineering and providing chain fashion to allow healthcare establishments to respond rapidly to threats to human life.
The lack of oxygen throughout is a serious problem that has put many human lives at risk. Assessing the status of on-ground oxygen supply and guaranteeing a clean and eco-friendly supply of oxygen over a quick turnaround time becomes critical, thereby saving human lives.
In order to ensure clean and eco-friendly oxygen supply to various states, the central authorities have deployed ‘oxygen specific’ trains to various state capitals.
However, this solves only part of the issue as a serious constraint is the real-time monitoring and seamless coordination between logistics and operations to ensure that oxygen reaches hospitals without any delay. Black advertising and hoarding of oxygen and vital medical supplies can also be a problem which has escalated the issue of oxygen supply.
To overcome these challenges, a hub and spoke model was used through multi-modal transport integration. Under this model, 5 hubs have been set up in Uttar Pradesh to ensure route optimization by air, rail and highway transport.