WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump phoned India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday to request release of the anti-malaria drug hydrochloroquine that he claimed the US had ordered and which has been held up following New Delhi banning its export. Trump has been insistent that the drug could be effective against coronavirus although there is not sufficient scientific evidence yet to back his assertion."They make large amounts of hydroxychloroquone…very large amounts frankly. They had a hold (on its exports) …they have1.5 billion people. I said I would appreciate it if they release the amounts we had ordered. They are giving it serious consideration," Trump said at his White House briefing on the pandemic, without specifying when and how much and from whom the US had ordered.The US President has been relentlessly espousing the drug although it is not yet approved by the U.S Food and Drug Administration for use against coronavirus, claiming there is nothing to lose if people try it. On Saturday, he went so far as to say he "may take it too."Although there are anecdotal accounts of the drug being effective and one survey of physicians listed it as the top line of treatment given the lack of alternatives in countering Covid-19 infections, Trump’s own expert team has been cautious about backing the President’s amateur enthusiasm."The two leaders agreed to remain in touch on the issue of global supply chains for critical pharmaceuticals and medical supplies and to ensure they continue to function as smoothly as possible during the global health crisis," the White House said in a readout of the call.Prime Minister Modi confirmed Trump’s call with his own tweet that was more generic and tactful about their conversation, saying, "Had an extensive telephone conversation with President @realDonaldTrump. We had a good discussion, and agreed to deploy the full strength of the India-US partnership to fight Covid-19."Trump’s India outreach comes amid reports of Washington literally hijacking medical supplies contracted to other countries to US, and using it domestic laws to force US companies manufacturing abroad to renege their global contracts and attend first to US domestic need. Many top U.S and western drug companies such as Pfizer, Merck, GlaxoSmithKline have major presence in India through subsidiaries, although the anti-malarial drug that the U.S President has been espousing passionately is mass manufactured by home-grown pharma majors such as IPCA, Lupin, Sun Pharma and others.But Indian drug majors have had a tortured relationship with the US FDA, with credible reports of shoddy processes and ineffective medications forcing them to clean up their act amid some grumbling about how global pharma giants feel threatened by their ramping up generic drug production and distribution. Globally, India accounts for 20 per cent of generic-drug exports, and 40 per cent of all new generics approved by the FDA in 2018 came from India.Earlier in the week, given India's own needs on the malaria front, New Delhi banned export of anti-malaria formulations, triggering the Trump phone call.