Thiruvananthapuram, July 15 (IANS) In the past six decades of its existence HLL Lifecare Limited, a mini-ratna public sector enterprise under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, has by now manufactured 5,500 condoms and continues to grow.

At present, it manufactures a record 221.7 crore condoms annually making it as one of the largest condom manufacturers in the world.

The mini-ratna public sector company is headquartered in the state capital city.

N. Ajit, Director (Marketing) of HLL, said that HLL has eight factories across the country.

He pointed out that five factories produce contraceptive products.

The factory in Peroorkada (Thiruvananthapuram) manufactures 124.6 crore condoms annually, while the one in Kanagala (Karnataka) produces 37 crore condoms, 98 lakh oral contraceptive pills (OCPs), 12.5 crore non-steroidal OCPs, and 1.87 crore emergency contraceptive pills.

The Kochi facility produces 30 crore male condoms and 2.5 crore female condoms annually, while the Airapuram (Kerala) factory manufactures an additional 27.6 crore condoms each year.

The factory in Aakkulam (Thiruvananthapuram) annually produces 55 lakh copper-Ts and 25 lakh tubal rings.

“HLL have played major roles in India’s success in population control. We are at the forefront of introducing several new contraceptive products in the country. In the early days, HLL made condoms available across the country under the brand name ‘Nirodh’. At that time, ‘Nirodh’ was the most popular condom brand. Later, various other brands were launched. However, HLL rapidly grew to become one of the largest manufacturers of contraceptive products in the world,” Ajith said.

He also added that Kerala has always been at the forefront of national family welfare programmes.

“By the late 1950s, the Central government was concerned about the rapid growth of India’s population. As part of addressing this concern, the country launched the National Family Welfare Programme. The family planning campaign with the slogan ‘Small family, happy family’ gained much attention during that time. Back then, condoms had to be imported at a high cost. So, the government decided to manufacture condoms within India itself. The main raw material needed for condom manufacturing is rubber or latex. Since rubber was abundantly available in Kerala, it was decided to set up the condom manufacturing unit here. Thus, in 1966, HLL was established in Thiruvananthapuram under the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare,” he said.

Apart from contraceptives, HLL’s Manesar factory in Haryana’s Gurugram specialises in rapid in-vitro diagnostic test kits, the Pharma factory in Madhya Pradesh’s Indore produces a range of pharmaceutical products and the Bhagwanpur Factory in Uttarakhand’s Haridwar is a dedicated AYUSH facility for manufacturing and supplying Ayurvedic and Unani medicines.

–IANS

sg/khz