Union Human Resource Development Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal “Nishank” and his Minister of State Sanjay Dhotre on Wednesday launched a low-cost coronavirus test kit, developed by the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi. Pokhriyal, who made the announcement about the testing kit on Tuesday, put up a video of the launch on Wednesday.
The test, Corosure, is said to be the world’s most affordable RT-PCR-based Covid-19 diagnostic kit, the Hindustan Times reported. However, the cost of the kit is not known.
In June, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had underlined the importance of “Atmanirbhar Bharat” (self-reliant India) which he said was very important during the pandemic. “We have to make this a major turning point for this nation,” he said as he delivered the inaugural address at the 95th annual plenary session of the Indian Chamber of Commerce. “What is that turning point? A self-reliant India.”
Modi said the country would have to make efforts to ensure that products that we usually import are manufactured in India and eventually exported.
In April, India returned faulty testing kits it had imported from Chinese firms. The Indian Council of Medical Research advised states to stop using kits produced by Guangzhou Wondfo Biotech and Zhuhai Livzon Diagnostics as the results led to wide variation.
India on Wednesday reported 29,429 new coronavirus cases, taking the total to 9,36,181, according to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. This is the highest daily rise in the number of infections. The toll rose by 582 to 24,309. More than 5.92 lakh people have recovered.
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