In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, India is grappling with the realities of the scope and reach of this virus and is constantly trying to innovate in spheres of testing, safety, medical equipment and public healthcare in order to control the growth of the pandemic.
We bring to you a list of Indian companies that are constantly pushing the boundaries of innovation and are using their resources to help fight the coronavirus. A strong sense of responsibility dictates the ethos of these companies. We are proud of the work they are doing and have faith in the collective power of young Indians.
As India fights back COVID-19, limited testing facilities and expensive testing kits have become the biggest concern for the authorities. In order to combat this challenge, the Pune-based molecular diagnostics company Mylab Discovery Solutions Pvt Ltd which specializes in molecular diagnostic kits has developed the first made-in-India test kits for COVID-19 in a record time of six weeks. The kit has been named the ‘Mylab PathoDetect COVID-19 Qualitative PCR Kit’.
“We have been trying hard to make cutting edge technology available to our country at a reasonable and affordable price. Since this test is based on the sensitive PCR technology, even early-stage infection can be detected with the highest accuracy as has been seen during tests at ICMR. The ICMR tested, CDSCO approved kit makes detection faster too”, said Mr Shailendra Kawade, Executive Director at Mylab.
Mylab promised that it can manufacture up to 1 lakh tests in a week which can be further scaled up if needed. Further, the company claims that its test kits can test about 100 patients with one kit. An average lab with automated PCR can test more than 1,000 patients a day. With the current 1000+ cases in the country, such quality testing can go a long way in fighting the virus.
It will be a major breakthrough for India as the locally-sourced testing kit would cost nearly one-fourth of the current procurement cost. Moreover, the Mylab PathoDetect COVID-19 Qualitative PCR kit screens and detects the infection within 2.5 hours which is miraculous when compared to the 7+ hours taken by current options. This means that laboratories will be able to do twice the number of tests at the same time on one machine. The technology could be instrumental in addressing a lot of pragmatics that we are faced with in the midst of this situation.
‘ADK by Avishi Dayal Kalra’ is an ingenious, ready-to-wear brand which creates a strong aesthetic approach to be bold, fearless and unapologetic. The label has an expressive direction driven by the urge to be different and extending individuality beyond comfort zones by experimenting and exploring new material to create a juxtapose dialogue about imperfection and challenging the status quo. ADK finds its identity by creating a dialogue that impacts the creative culture pushing the boundaries forward and constantly challenging cultures.
As a critical situation is faced by all countries, including our own, India. ADK is taking this moment to remind us all to come together and make a difference. They hope to create and inspire, to support our community in this tough moment and to do the same by minimizing the impact of the COVID-19 virus in our country. Considering the swiftness of the crisis and the lack of time they have had to generate equipment that can be used for safety, the company has pledged to utilize old cloth and create facemasks for the public with it. This is instrumental in creating necessary products keeping sustainability in mind. Considering the swiftness of the crisis and the lack of time we have had to generate equipment that can be used for safety, the company has pledged to utilize old cloth and create facemasks for the public with it. This is instrumental in creating necessary products keeping sustainability in mind.
Educational Institutes producing sanitisers to counter the dirth of sanitisers available:
The Indian Institutes of Technology at Kanpur, Kharagpur, Roorkee, Ropar, Madras, MNIT Jalandhar, the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, St Xavier’s College, Jadavpur University, Lucknow University and the Delhi Pharmaceutical Sciences and Research University are producing sanitisers and are distributing the same to hospitals and locals. IIT Ropar has made 6 litres of sanitisers and is now on its way to making 70 litres now. The approach can help cater to a dearth of sanitisers.
Goa Brewing Company:
The Brewing Company is making non-conformist sanitisers available at a nominal cost to fight the shortage at key points across Goa.
The brewing team is making them using WHO specified ingredients. They started it first for their local villagers and government department staff who were highly vulnerable due to the market shortage.
For the Goa Brewing Tribe in Goa, if one is carrying their own bottle, they can take a free refill from their brewery. Please call Siddhant on +91 80073 85117 before the visit.
Maker’s Asylum is committed to the cause of contributing meaningfully to the COVID-19 pandemic. They wish to make and give out 1,00,000 (updated from their original vision of 10,000) face shields to hospitals and doctors who are in need and they have designed something very simple that can be cut and assembled in three minutes. There are over 500 makerspaces across the country and they believe that their open source design can truly help achieve fast distributed and localised manufacturing via these labs in these times of lockdown and social distancing.
You can contribute to their fundraiser here
If you liked reading this, we suggest you read: