Australian and Indian researchers will work together to advance Covid-19 screening and study the future health effects of the virus, after a nearly $4 million investment by Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s government in Canberra.
The Australia-India Strategic Research Fund (AISRF) has funded six new projects, including one to develop Covid-19 diagnostic technologies and another to study the longer-term effects on the hearts and lungs of patients who have recovered.
Other projects will develop risk management systems to protect farmers from disasters associated with climate change and demonstrate how food-drying technology using renewable energy can reduce pollution in the food-processing sector, according to a press release by the High Commission of Australia in New Delhi.
“This latest funding will enable Australian and Indian researchers to contribute to the global response to the pandemic, including in crucial screening and diagnostic testing,” the press release quoted Karen Andrews, Minister for Industry, Science and Technology of the Oz Government, saying.
“As a result of our shared commitment to finding answers through science and technology, India and Australia have tackled a number of shared challenges since the AISRF was established in 2006, with important progress made in areas including agriculture, energy and health.”
In June 2020, the Australian government announced it would commit a further $15 million to extend the AISRF for another four years to 2024, bringing Australia’s total funding for AISRF grants to nearly $100 million over 18 years. This funding will begin to roll out from the next grant round in 2021.
The AISRF is Australia’s largest fund dedicated to bilateral science collaboration. It helps build links between Australia and India’s top universities, research institutions and the end-users of scientific innovation.
(Published 10 December 2020, 16:13 IST)
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