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NEW DELHI: In the last week of March 2020, as India was gearing up for first lockdown amid COVID 19 spread, an empowered-Group 3 was rushed by the Centre to facilitate availability of medical supplies: N-95 masks, testing swabs and personal protection equipment (PPE) kits.
Time was the critical factor as much the situation of rising COVID cases.
A new study has now disclosed key step in ensuring these supplies was indigenising the manufacturing and setting up of eight pan-India testing labs.
This includes South India Textile Research Association (SITRA), Comibatore, Ordinance Factory in Kanpur, Small Arms Factory in Kanpur, Heavy vehicles factory in Chennai, Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences (INMAS), Metal and Steel Factory (MSF) and Ordnance Fatory in Ambarnath, Maharashtra