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DRDO, premier agency of the Government of India responsible for military research and development, today launched a mobile laboratory named Mobile Virology Research and Diagnostics Laboratory (MVRDL) in Hyderabad. The first-of-its-kind laboratory aims at speeding up Coronavirus screening and research and development activities.
The laboratory was conceptualized 6 April and all activities have been completed record time of 15 days which is by 20 April said the Defence Research and Development Organisation. “I congratulate team DRDO for developing this mobile lab in Hyderabad. The Ministry of Defence and the Armed Forces are working tirelessly to strengthen India’s capacity and capability in winning the war against the menace of COVID-19,” tweeted Rajnath Singh, Defence Minister of India.
DRDO, after discussions with ESIC Medical College, Hyderabad, came up with a combination of two mobile laboratories, which can be positioned anywhere in the country in a very short period of time. The labs have been built as per WHO and ICMR bio-safety standards to meet the international guidelines.
Apart from screening Coronavirus samples, the labs can also be used for drug screening, therapeutics, Coronavirus diagnostics, vaccine development, development of diagnostic kits, and so on. The laboratory, DRDO says, can enable the test services at remote places. Apart from that, the laboratory will also enable the researchers and medical practitioners to undertake research activities and develop diagnostics assays and therapeutics.
DRDO has been involved in various other activities as well to power India’s fight against Coronavirus. Contactless sanitizer dispensers, seam sealing biosuits, five layered N-99 masks, PPE MkIII for protection of medical professionals and paramedics, face protection mask for health care professionals, COVID Sample Collection Kiosk (COVSACK), and other related products are some of the innovations DRDO is involved in.