In order to overcome the time delays and swift delivery of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and masks, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has shifted its testing facility from Defence Research Development Establishment (DRDE), Gwalior, to the Institute of Nuclear Medicine & Allied Sciences (INMAS), Delhi. The INMAS is another premier Life Science Laboratory of DRDO.
The facility at INMAS is fully operational for testing and evaluation of body suits and masks. More than 10 batches of these items have already been tested at the laboratory.
The DRDE, Gwalior which has been at the forefront in fighting COVID-19, has now been tasked to confirm the label claims of masks and body suits received by HLL Lifecare Limited from foreign countries, before it is distributed to various agencies.
Moreover, as part of its continued fight against Covid-19, the public sector aviation conglomerate Hindustan Aeronautics Limited(HAL) has produced and handed over more than 300 aerosol boxes to various state governments like Karnataka, UP, Maharashtra, AP, Telangana and Kerala to be used in hospitals.
The transparent box acts as an insulator between the doctor and the patient. It can significantly reduce the possibility of Covid-19 transmission to doctors and medical staff treating Corona patients. “The results are encouraging and we can cater to more hospitals and states in this hour of need”, said R Madhavan, CMD, HAL. The boxes are produced at various divisions of HAL across the country.
In Uttar Pradesh, 30 Aerosol boxes produced by the Kanpur Division were handed over to Awanish Kumar Awasthi, ACS (Home) by Apurba Roy, GM, Transport Aircraft Division, Kanpur and Rakesh Mishra, Chief of Projects, Accessories Division, Lucknow in the presence of Amit Mohan Prasad (Principal Secretary, Health).
The HAL management has already announced contribution of Rs 26.25 crores in PM-CARES fund.