Important update on PM CARES ventilator scam:

I'd filed an RTI with state-owned Bharat Electronics Ltd. (BEL) which is supplying 30,000 PM CARES ventilators.

This was after Chairman/MD BEL threatened me with legal action after I exposed the ventilator pricing.

It gets murky

I'd asked about number of ventilators sold to PM CARES, their pricing, & copies of invoices. This was rejected with a baffling response that the request is "non-specific with regards to time".

This is garbage because the order placed by PM CARES is a one-time order.

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It gets weirder.

I then asked about total BEL-Skanray ventilators sold between 25 Mar - 18 Jun, their price, & hospitals they were supplied to.

This too was rejected saying "giving this info would harm the competitive position of BEL (a public authority)".

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The "harming competitive position of BEL" argument is rubbish because:

(a) BEL is NOT in the ventilator business. These ventilators are being manufactured by BEL for Skanray ONLY FOR PM CARES

(b) Govt-owned company cannot hide prices at which it sells to the govt

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Now comes the *drumroll* big murkiness.

BEL says that as of 15 Jun, 4000 BEL-Skanray ventilators had been manufactured. These are for PM CARES.

But in a press note a week later (on 23 June), PMO said ONLY 2923 TOTAL ventilators have been manufactured.

Why did PMO lie?

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Remember - PM CARES has allocated Rs. 4 lakh per ventilator.

AgVa Healthcare ventilators are priced at 1.5 lakhs according to the company.

The designer of BEL-Skanray ventilators Dr. Hiremath said on record that their price is less than 1 lakh.

Where is the money going?

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- Why is the number of manufactured ventilators claimed by BEL-Skanray so VASTLY different from the number announced by PM CARES?

- Why is a govt-company hiding the selling price of its ventilators to PM CARES?

What are BEL & PM CARES trying to hide so desperately?

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