France has sent India crucial medical equipment supplies to fight the pandemic, which includes ventilators, serological test kits and nose and throat swabs, around the same time the Rafale jets are set to arrive.

“The medical equipment package is a gift from the French government. It is to show France’s appreciation for the life saving drugs supplied by India to the country, at very short notice, in its time of need to help it deal with the pandemic,” a source close to the development told BusinessLine .

The material being provided by France includes 50 pieces of Osiris 3 ventilators, 70 pieces of Yuwell 830 ventilators with BIPAP mode, 50,000 serological tests (IgM/IgG Duo test kits by Biosensor) and 50,000 nose and throat swabs, the source said.

The ventilators will be supplied to the Indian Red Cross Society while the test kits will be received by the Indian Council of Medical Research respectively.

French President Emmanuel Macron has sent a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressing France’s solidarity with India at this difficult time.

The arrival of the medical equipment supplies from France, around the same time as the first five Rafale fighter aircraft, built by Dassault, which are to reach India on Wednesday, is a “happy coincidence’’, the official said.

The Rafale deal, concluded by the Modi-government after scrapping older negotiations, had created a lot of political controversy in the country with the Congress accusing the ruling party of buying the aircraft at a much higher price.

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