NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi insisted that India help out other countries that need hydroxycholoroquine rather than opting for a blanket export ban after ensuring that there will be no deficiency for demand and buffer stock in India.Sources present in the meeting where the decision was taken to ramp up production of the drug and make it available for countries which had requested its supply said when officials pitched for an export ban, Modi simply asked for statistics on India’s future projected consumption in the worst case scenario.This projection would account for use by patients, close contacts and healthcare workers — as currently recommended — in keeping with production capacity. “The PM said that he wanted to seize this opportunity for India and the world. ‘This is an important moment where India can save lives and we cannot let it go,’ the PM said,” according to a source.The PM is understood to have keenly tracked emerging research on Covid-19 and after reading about hydroxychloroquine , he called some heads of pharma companies to inquire about India’s production capacity. Coming from Gujarat, his understanding of the pharmaceutical industry proved handy and he requested companies to ramp up production. This was before President Donald Trump spoke of the drug to India, said sources.Minister of state for chemicals and fertilisers Mansukh Mandavia said, “While we went to brief the PM about India’s production capacity, he already knew most of it. He wanted us to move forward. His directive was to bring all stakeholders on board to ensure that we ramp up production immediately.”Cadila Healthcare’s Pankaj Patel said, “PM Modi motivated the industry by saying this is the chance for India to make a mark globally. He assured us help and results are here for all to see. This month our industry produced 20 crore tablets. My company will produce APIs worth 15 crore tablets next month.”Modi asked officials to ensure standard bureaucratic procedures do not come in the way of increasing production to meet the demands of India and other countries.India produces 70% of the hydroxychloroquine in the world. As of now India’s need is 1.5 crore tablets and has 3.28 crore tablets which will soon reach 5 crore. State governments have also stocked these tablets which will reach 2.5 crore by end of the week.The ‘India Model’ of proactively helping out with the medicine, said sources, is quite different from the ‘China Model’ where assistance is tied up with conditions and quality is poor. Countries from the US and Brazil to the Maldives have thanked India.The PM is understood to have keenly tracked emerging research on Covid-19. After reading about hydroxychloroquine, he asked heads of some pharmaceutical firms to ramp up production. This was even before US President Trump spoke about the drug to India, sources said