https://indianmasterminds.com

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

When Covid19 Generated Employment

Covid 19 provided an opportunity to IAS officer Arvind Singh for generating employment in the Lakhimpur Kheri district of Uttar Pradesh. Today, women of the region are making PPE kits which are being bought by the Army, the para-military forces and other organizations.
Indian Masterminds Stories

When the Covid-19 pandemic was at its peak, the whole nation was trying its best to battle with it. Paramedic forces were working hard day and night. Apart from the lakhs of people that have fallen prey to this deadly virus, we are also combating another deadly threat in the form of unemployment. The health structure is facing a mighty challenge and to win the battle against the virus, the most important weapon that the front liner health workers need is Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) kits. And in this widespread crisis, there is one person who is taking care of these two major issues simultaneously.

In Uttar Pradesh’s Lakhimpur Kheri district, IAS Mr. Arvind Singh has implemented steps to solve both these problems by hiring underprivileged women and employing them to make PPE kits for the front line health workers.

IAS officer and Corona Warrior, Mr. Arvind Singh

Idea for the Initiative

Mr. Singh is a 2015 batch IAS officer who completed his Engineering from IIT Varanasi and MBA from IIM Lucknow. He cracked IAS in his third attempt and scored AIR-10. Today, he holds the post of Chief development officer in Lakhimpur Kheri. When the pandemic struck, Mr. Singh realized that he needed to deploy human resources who will work to restrain the spread.

“Ours is not a very infrastructural advanced district with multi-specialty healthcare facilities. So, as the COVID-19 situation intensified, teams of healthcare professionals were urgently deployed at all of our health centers,” said Mr. Singh.

He appointed a number of teams, each consisting of 25 members who included doctors, nurses, pharmacists, ambulance drivers, and janitors. working in two shifts during the day, they continually came in direct contact with Coronavirus patients. The people who supplied food to the patients, as well as police personnel in charge of the hospital security and quarantine centers, also needed protection.

That is when Mr. Singh realized that procuring PPE kits was a necessity for them. The surge in demand for kits had already sky-rocketed and to top it, the countrywide lockdown made it even more difficult to acquire. “Fortunately, we had already engaged our self-help groups in indigenously manufacturing the PPEs, days before the lockdown was announced on 25th March,” he held.

Women employed at SHGs manufacturing the PPE kits

Operation Kabach

Mr. Singh called all his teams and sat down with them. He discussed his initiative with the members and afterward called in suppliers for procuring raw material for the PPE kits. A complete Personal Protective Equipment kit contains polypropylene coveralls, goggles, face shields, headgears, masks, gloves, and shoe covers. Mr. Singh appointed about 185 underprivileged rural women who worked in 6 different blocks of the Lakhimpur Kheri and deployed them into the manufacturing unit. He had the vision of beginning with the manufacturing even before the country went under lockdown phase 1 on 25th March 2020.

Once all the material required was obtained, these underprivileged women were trained meticulously and coached in designing and manufacturing the kits up to the required standard. The final product was finalized after almost twenty rehearsals. But their hard work really paid off when the quality of these PPE kits was considered so good that that Director-General of Communicable Diseases certified the design and quality of the kit on April 8, 2020!

Mr. Singh supervising the teams

Success of the Operation

Thanks to Operation Kabach, the teams set up by Mr. Singh received their first order of 52 kits from the Lucknow Cantonment of 41st Infantry Brigade, and the Kumaon Indore division which ordered 20 kits. Soon, Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) too ordered 30 PPE kits. As of now, the Northern Commands Army Base hospital in Lucknow has already given order of 2000 PPE kits to Operation Kabach.

The price of each kit has been determined at Rs.490, which is less than half of what the Army and the Health Department was paying to private enterprises. Prior to this, the Indian Army was compelled to pay double the amount for the imported kits that were not just extremely expensive but often of sub-standard. Indian Army in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh has ordered these PPE kits in bulk for the army base COVID hospitals. The payment received through these orders is directly credited to the SHG bank accounts, thereby enabling the empowerment of rural women.

Today, the Operation has the capacity of manufacturing 1500 kits per day. The center where the production takes place follows strict protocols of sanitation and social distancing. Mr. Arvind himself visits the centers at least once a day.

“Presently, we have the strength of around 175 women across 28 SHGs in 6 blocks of the district, namely, Lakhimpur Kheri, Isanagar, Nighasan, Palia, Gola and Mohammadi. We strictly follow all the standard sanitary protocols and social distancing norms at all these centres, which are disinfected twice daily,” according to Mr. Singh.

CDO Mr. Arvind Singh’s Operation Kabach has proved to be fruitful for not only the front line health workers but also for the numerous rural ladies who were jobless earlier.


Indian Masterminds Stories
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Related Stories
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
NEWS
NCST Holds Review Meeting with NHPC
NCST Holds Review Meeting with NHPC on Implementation of Safeguards for Scheduled Tribe Employees
MP CM Collector Award Niti Aayog
Sampurnata Abhiyan: Madhya Pradesh Leads NITI Aayog Campaign; Collectors from 8 Districts Win Gold
Mohan Yadav
MP CM Mohan Yadav Pushes for Sustainable, Community-Driven Rural Water Policy; Targets 100% Tap Coverage by March 2027
Ajay Bhadoo IAS
IAS Ajay Bhadoo Gets Extended Term as DGFT - What It Means & His Career Journey
THDCIL_Receives_ABMS_Certification_for_Integrity_and_Transparency
THDC India (THDCIL) Awarded ISO 37001:2016 Anti-Bribery Certification by BIS - Details Inside
Ministry of Environment
Environment Ministry Clarifies Petrol Vehicle Tender, Cites E-Vehicle Flexibility
Bokaro Steel Plant
PESB Selects Priya Ranjan to Head Bokaro Steel Plant, SAIL’s Key Production Unit
REC Limited wins ‘Best Design Thinking Award’ at 5th Distinguished NBFC (DNA) Awards
REC Limited Bags ‘Best Design Thinking Award’ at 5th Distinguished NBFC Awards
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Videos
Dr
Resisted Flawed Schemes, Transferred Thrice In Three Months, Found Solace In Writing
WhatsApp Image 2025-08-11 at 4.48
IAS SVR Srinivas on Mumbai Trans Harbour Link, Tough Calls, and the Real Power of IAS Officers | Video Interview
WhatsApp Image 2025-08-08 at 5.25
Dharavi Redevelopment: IAS Minds Turning 100-Year-Old Slum into a Modern City | Video Interview
ADVERTISEMENT
UPSC Stories
IAS Minnu P M
“Lazy, Sleepy, Yet Determined”: Minnu P M’s Honest Take on Cracking UPSC
Minnu PM, once a clerk in Kerala Police, cleared UPSC with AIR 150 after five years of struggle. Her...
IPS Ashish Tiwari
From IIT and Investment Banking to Public Service, Meet IPS Ashish Tiwari 
Ashish Tiwari, IIT graduate and former investment banker, chose public service over global finance. As...
WhatsApp Image 2025-08-12 at 7.27
First Attempt IRS, Fourth Attempt IPS: The Relentless Pursuit of Jitendra Kumar Yadav Who Cracked UPSC 3 Times
IPS Yadav is originally from Chhattisgarh. He was first selected for the IRS through UPSC and later for...
Social Media
Masahiro Hara
From Go Board to Global Use, How QR Codes Changed the World: IRAS Officer Ananth Rupanagudi Spotlights Masahiro Hara’s Vision
IRAS officer Ananth Rupanagudi shared a video on Masahiro Hara, the inventor of QR codes, highlighting...
IFS Susanta Nanda Video
A Mother’s Duty: Tigress Watches Over Cubs Splashing in Waterhole — Heartwarming Video Shared By Retd. IFS Officer Susanta Nanda
A tender wildlife video shared by Retd. IFS officer Susanta Nanda shows a tigress keeping watch over...
Mohanmala
Kaziranga Mourns: Beloved Elephant Mohanmala Passes Away After Five Decades of Service
Kaziranga National Park mourns the loss of Mohanmala, a beloved elephant who served over 50 years as...
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Latest
NCST Holds Review Meeting with NHPC
NCST Holds Review Meeting with NHPC on Implementation of Safeguards for Scheduled Tribe Employees
MP CM Collector Award Niti Aayog
Sampurnata Abhiyan: Madhya Pradesh Leads NITI Aayog Campaign; Collectors from 8 Districts Win Gold
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Videos
Dr
WhatsApp Image 2025-08-11 at 4.48
WhatsApp Image 2025-08-08 at 5.25
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT