Eight coronavirus-related projects at IIT Kharagpur get IIT Council approval

Eight research projects of IIT Kharagpur for developing equipments related to the treatment of COVID-19 infection has been approved by the IIT Council. A fund of Rs. 50 lakh has been allotted for the projects.

The projects include design and development of rapid diagnostic kit, real time TC machine, body suit for COVID-19 patients personal protective equipment for healthcare workers, largescale production of recombinant proteins for vaccine and testing.

“IIT Kharagpur has set up research funding for R&D work related to COVID-19. The Institute submitted a list of projects to the IIT Council last week of which 8 projects have been selected,” said a statement issued by IIT Kharagpur.

According to a statement issued by IIT Kharagpur the prototypes for most of these projects are expected to be ready within three to four weeks while a couple of them will take about six months to deliver the results.

It further stated that the first phase of the projects will start soon after the lockdown as then the research staff will be able to work in the laboratories.

““IIT Kharagpur has a proven track record towards development of indigenous health and hygiene technologies which are affordable, high-quality at par with globally accepted standards, and commercially viable. Our researchers are committed to deliver the prototypes within a constrained timeline considering the healthcare needs in the current situation," said Virendra Kumar Tewari, Director of IIT Kharagpur.

“It is our responsibility to improve the quality of life of the last person in the society. While we built some quick technologies to cater to the immediate needs of the essential service providers at the campus, we were simultaneously preparing project proposals and evaluating them keeping in mind the immediate need of the country, cost and product delivery period," said Prof Tewari.

Union HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank praised the institute for “ innovating and developing techniques amd gadgets to help India” in a tweet.