The government has ramped up production capacity of PPE coveralls required by medical personnel treating COVID-19 as cases have increased by more than 1 lakh, with Bengaluru emerging as a major production hub. Nearly 50 per cent of coverall production in the country is from Bengaluru. Other than Bengaluru, PPE coveralls are also being manufactured by approved production units in Tirupur, Chennai and Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu, Ahmedabad and Vadodara in Gujarat, Phagwara and Ludhiana in Punjab, Kusumnagar and Bhiwandi in Maharashtra, Dungarpur in Rajasthan, Kolkata, Delhi, Noida, Gurugram and few other places.

Body coveralls (PPE) have a stringent technical requirement as prescribed by the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare since it is a specialized protective suit meant for high level of protection to health professionals. In the last week of January 2020, the technical standard for the coveralls was prescribed as per WHO class-3 exposure pressure in accordance with ISO 16003 or its equivalent.

The health ministry finalised the technical requirement on March 2, based on the indigenous availability of materials and the technical requirement for a high level of protection of the healthcare professionals who would deal with the COVID-19 cases, in consultation with medical experts in the field.The specification was published on the official website of HLL Lifecare on March 5 2020, inviting manufacturers having adequate capability to participate in the procurement process.

As of now, there are four laboratories in the country which have the Synthetic Blood Penetration Resistance Test facilities as well as necessary approvals for conducting tests and certification for Body Coveralls (PPE) required for COVID-19.