From 47,000 annually to 2 lakh daily, PPE production skyrockets

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 10

There has been a massive spike in production of personal protection equipment (PPE) kits in the country following outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. From just 47,000 kits being produced annually, the output has gone up to about two lakh per day.

Stating this here today, Dr G Satheesh Reddy, Chairman, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), said Covid-19 has provided a lot of opportunity for research and development and industrial production, but cautioned that delays in development is of no use.

He was addressing scientists and staff at the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), Mohali, via video-conferencing on the occasion of the center’s 32nd foundation day. Directors and scientists from various laboratories of the DRDO, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research and other institutions also participated in the conference.

He also spoke about medical ventilators produced by the industry with assistance from the DRDO, which costs from Rs 1.5 to 4 lakh and have export potential.

Dr Reddy said the C-DAC, an autonomous body under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, will be considered as an ‘extended arm’ of the DRDO for undertaking applied research.

Lauding the role of the Mohali center in research and development in electronics and information technology, Dr Reddy said artificial intelligence tools developed by it would be required in all most every field.

Dr PK Khosla, Director, C-DAC, Mohali, gave an overview of the work done in the organisation’s four verticals – healthcare technology, cyber security, e-governance and education and training. He also spoke about four new areas under focus, including artificial intelligence, augmented and virtual reality, robotics and quantum computing.

Dr Hemant Darbari, Director General, C-DAC, spoke on –e-Sanjeevni OPD, a recently launched national level telemedicine project rolled out by the C-DAC, Mohali. It has been extended to 15 states within three weeks and provides access to over a thousand doctors.

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