The Union Government on Wednesday banned the export of alcohol-based sanitisers amid coronavirus crisis.
“Alcohol-based hand sanitisers are prohibited for exports,” the Directorate General of Foreign Trade, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, said in a notification.
This comes as an amendment to the notification of 24th March related to export policy of sanitizers with immediate effect.
The move by the government is meant to boost availability of hand sanitisers in the domestic market amid the outbreak of the infectious COVID-19 disease.
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Sanitisers are an essential component in the fight against the deadly infection and are used as a disinfectant to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
As per the Wednesday morning update, the total number of COVID-19 cases in India is nearing the 50,000-mark as they stand at 49,391, according to Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. 14,183 individuals have recovered from the infection, while 1,694 have died.