Arvind, ACT Grants ink deal to produce N95 masks

Arvind, one of India’s largest textile-to-retail conglomerate and ACT Grants, have partnered to produce 30 million N95 masks in the next 12 months. Arvind has received Rs 100 million from ACT Grants, the non-profit coalition of VC funds and start-up founders, and will employ its manufacturing expertise on medical products and working capital to create a large, integrated facility for N95 mask production and distribution.

Through this partnership, Arvind and ACT Grants will jointly donate nine million masks over the next year to charitable institutions, government bodies, and other organisations, focusing on medical and non-medical professionals with the highest risk of contracting the virus. Upon complete scale-up, the daily N95 mask production capacity will be approximately two lakh units which would be operated, owned and managed by Arvind. The N95 masks will be available through Arvind Advanced Material Distribution partners, direct sales channels to Government, hospitals, and other corporates.

“Arvind has been manufacturing PPEs for various industries for over a decade and we believe we can use this expertise to produce N95 masks,” Punit Lalbhai, Executive Director, Arvind said.

“A detailed Quality Management System including product and process has been implemented, to ensure quality and consistent manufacturing. ACT upfront supported Arvind in setting up this project in record time and Arvind appreciates having a like minded partner in this journey,” Lalbhai added. Arvind Advanced Materials is a large, pioneering manufacturer of PPE coveralls and face masks which are certified by BIS and Global agencies.

“ACT and its partners have already provided over 3 lakh PPE and over 15 lakh masks to hospitals, police and frontline workers across 20 states of India. This partnership with Arvind will allow us to make 10x the impact in protecting our front-lines and provide high quality, locally manufactured BIS certified N95 masks in India. ACT will work with partner NGOs & Foundations to make these N95 masks available free of cost,” said Apurv Bansal, Spokesperson from ACT Grants.

ACT Grants is a rs 100 crore grant created by India’s VC and start-up community to provide stimulus to ideas that could combat COVID-19 with immediate impact. ACT, which stands for ‘Action COVID-19 Team’, supports start-ups working towards containing COVID-19 spread, scaling testing, disease management at home, enhanced support for healthcare workers and hospitals, management of critically-ill patients and support for mental health.

ACT Grants is seeking capital-efficient, scalable solutions from NGOs and innovative start-ups which need an initial seed grant to fight the spread of the pandemic. Its mission is to seed and empower teams that are harnessing technology to create large-scale impact in the detection, prevention, and eradication of COVID-19.