In a first, the government on Monday allowed exports of medical coveralls, a key personal protection equipment (PPE), but capped the monthly shipment at 50 lakh units to ensure domestic supplies remain steady in times of the pandemic. This marks India’s remarkable journey from an importer of medical coveralls until the Covid-19 outbreak to an exporter now — all in a matter of few months. Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal tweeted: “Boosting Make in India exports, PPE medical coveralls for COVID-19 have been allowed with a monthly export quota of 50 lakh.” Even Prime Minister Narendra Modi had recently cited the turnaround in PPE manufacturing in India to highlight the “Atmanirbhar Bharat” initiative. The export of medical coveralls was “prohibited” earlier but now it has been put in the “restricted” category. However, exports of other items that are part of PPE kits would continue to remain prohibited, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) said in a notification.