The Indian government will buy 10 million tablets of Tamiflu and 10 million N-95 masks to face the threat from influenza-A/H1N1, reported the Hindi daily Hindustan on Friday.

The paper quoted Vineet Chawdhry, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, as saying that 10 million tablets are expected to treat one million infected people.

The government has received price bids from four companies -- Cipla Ltd., Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd., Hetero Drugs Ltd. and the local unit of Swiss-based Roche Holding, for supplying the medicines within one week, said the paper.

The Indian Health Ministry is also tracing and screening some 50,000 overseas passengers who entered the country in the last 10 days from flu-affected countries and regions.

The Indian government on Thursday said no case of influenza-A/H1N1 has been detected in the country.

On media reports about a suspected flu case in Hyderabad, Chawdhry told the media the patient is not showing any symptoms.

He said the patient, an overseas Indian, has reported to a nearby health center for check up after he developed flu like symptoms after coming back from Mexico.

(Xinhua News Agency May 1, 2009)