New Delhi: In an effort to reduce the time in delivery of the safety gear to healthcare professionals, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has shifted a key testing facility for carrying out quality checks on personal protective equipment (PPE) from Gwalior to New Delhi.
At a time when the country is facing a shortage of PPE kits, the testing facility has been shifted from Gwalior-based Defence Research Development Establishment (DRDE) to the Delhi-based Institute of Nuclear Medicine & Allied Sciences (INMAS).
“The facility at INMAS is fully operational for testing and evaluation of body suits and masks. More than 50 batches of these items have already been tested at the laboratory,” the defence ministry said in a statement.
The DRDE specialises in developing detection and protection technologies against biological and chemical agents.
The statement said the Gwalior laboratory will now test only masks received by HLL Healthcare Limited from foreign countries before they are distributed to various agencies.
PPE kits are sent to DRDO for testing by HLL Lifecare Limited, which is the government’s nodal agency for medical procurement.
The kits are distributed to various agencies only after they pass stringent quality tests.
A PPE kit contains a full-body suit, masks, goggles, gloves, and shoe covers.
The DRDO is among the several government agencies that have been at the forefront of the fight against the coronavirus disease (Covid-19).
It has developed several products to combat the pandemic including ventilators, PPE kits, large area sanitisation solutions and Covid sample collection kiosks.
