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Drones, security may be the answer to change in crucial times

Drones for surveillance, food delivery start-ups, artificial intelligence and IoT are some of the key tools which have helped the country bring down the panic level during the present COVID-19 crisis.

https://www.openpr.com/news/2011793/in-depth-analysis-of-how-covid-19-is-impacting-the-physical
Coronavirus: IIT Ropar Develops Device To Sanitise Grocery Items, Bank Notes, Delivery Packages
Sanitizing currency notes, mobile phones made easy! IIT Bombay develops portable UV sanitizers
IIT Bombay develops ‘digital stethoscope’ to ensure social distancing between doctors, patients
ICICI and IIT Kanpur to develop indigenous, portable, affordable and invasive ventilators in fighting COVID-19

Bhopal emerges as the hotbed for innovation, using smart technologies, for managing COVID-19

India joins Global Hackathon to provide solutions to COVID-19

NIPER-Guwahati designs innovative 3D products to fight COVID-19

Coronavirus | Karnataka’s first ‘sanitiser bus’ rolls out of scrap yard

COVID-19: Karnataka readies for blood plasma therapy

Karnataka will soon get a blood bank, specifically for COVID-19 patients, which will collect antibody-rich plasma from patients who have recovered from the disease recently.

ICMR seeks participation in trial to study efficacy of convalescent plasma in COVID-19 patients
Top Medical Body ICMR Seeks Participation In Study Of Plasma Treatment For COVID-19
ICMR plans plasma therapy clinical trials in 2 weeks to treat critical Covid-19 cases

Can India tide over COVID-19 with minimal damage?

Marine Red Algae may Hold Key to Preventing Spread of COVID-19: Reliane Researchers

Coronavirus | Department of Science and Technology moots research to study effects of yoga in fighting viruses
Think you can prove yoga, meditation ward off Covid-19? Modi govt has an offer for you

The central govt is seeking research by experts on how yoga & meditation can boost immunity, improve the respiratory system and alleviate depression and anxiety.

After Modi’s appeal, AYUSH ministry gets over 2,000 proposals to tackle Covid-19 pandemic

AYUSH ministry has so far received around 1,300 proposals under Ayurveda, followed by 700 under homeopathy and 100 each for Unani and Siddha.

Research to ascertain herbs’ role in tackling Covid

We need to have a database of AYUSH treatment results against prescription to check effectiveness for all kinds of diseases.

Covid-19: Software firms sharpen focus on AI, big data as IT spending drops

Indo-US science forum is inviting scientists and engineers to research on COVID-19
Indo-US S&T forum invites joint research proposals on coronavirus

Why India's Stated Policy on Hydroxychloroquine Makes No Sense

India to consider use of Ebola-drug Remdesivir to treat critical coronavirus patients?
Drug used for Ebola may be effective in stopping Covid-19 replication: ICMR
Will an anti-Ebola drug be the silver bullet in the fight against COVID-19?

Survey of India’s new app will map geo-tagged Covid-19 data to help fight the pandemic

Maharashtra seeks permission to use BCG vaccine for clinical tests on Covid-19 cases

The decision was taken following "positive results" of research carried out by experts at the Haffkine Institute in Mumbai.

The initial research reportedly hints that people who received BCG vaccines are found to be more immune against Covid-19 than those who did not receive the vaccine.

BCG vaccine to be tested in Covid-19 battle

These Indian students from SRIHER won the MIT COVID-19 Challenge with their ideas for a PPE suit and at-home testing

C-CIDA shortlists 13 near deployment-ready Covid-19 products
C-CAMP shortlisted 18 near deployable techs from start-ups across India ready to scale

MeitY announces innovation challenge for ‘Made in India’ video conferencing solution

Indian solutions dominate global hackathon to combat COVID 19

Fighting COVID-19: Eight high priority research projects get approval

Besides NCBS and inStem, researchers from the University of Hyderabad and two Bengaluru-based institutions, Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR) are also part of these projects.

The projects

• Rapid compressed sensing technology for COVID-19 pooled testing to overcome the shortage of reagents for the manufacturing of diagnostic test kits
• A rapidly deployable method of disinfection which can neutralise the coronavirus on contact with any surface
• Colour-based test for point-of-care COVID-19 detection
• A community questionnaire in multiple languages to assess the possibility of using the symptom of loss of sense-of-smell as a potential screening methodology
• A test for sense of smell to identify potential COVID-19 clusters and high-risk individuals
• A method to rapidly screen FDA-approved drugs that interfere with key steps of viral entry and processing
• To study whether antivirals already in use for other coronaviridae infections could be repurposed for COVID-19
• Mathematical models of COVID-19 spread that will fit to national-level quantitative data to provide recommendations on outbreak suppression

These 4 healthtech startups are helping with their solutions to fight coronavirus

Docturnal ... The flagship product will help with the at-home screening of pulmonary tuberculosis. ...

Qure.ai ... provides an automated interpretation of radiology exams like X-rays, CTs, and MRI scans ...

AI Highway ... Its COVID-19 pre-screening and triage tool ...

‘RespirAID’, an automated respiratory assist device ...

Coronavirus Mutation Found in India “Raises Alarm”, Could Hinder Development of Vaccine: Study

This mutation leads to a “weaker receptor binding capability” in the novel coronavirus, which is proof that change has occurred in the part of the spike protein that allows the virus to bind with human cells.

As scientists have possessed more knowledge about this receptor than any other, they have so far been working on creating antibodies that target this specific receptor. But now, with the mutation modifying the receptor’s structure, the entire research work done on this subject could possibly end up becoming useless.

The mutant coronavirus the study refers to was first sampled by the National Institute of Virology from a patient in Kerala, India in January. The full genome sequence, however, was released to the international community last month—a delay that some researchers find quite surprising.

The SCMP report has quoted an unnamed researcher as saying that the findings of this study will need further verification, as there remains the possibility of the mutation being caused by a technical error during the sequencing process. There is also a chance of the results produced by the computer simulation being misleading.

Mutation strain from India could kill current research efforts for coronavirus vaccine: report

Defence Research Body Develops Kiosk For COVID-19 Sample Collection
DRDL Hyderabad develops kiosk for COVID-19 sample collection

Military’s innovations to help combat Covid-19
From PPE Boxes To Surgical Masks, Indian Armed Forces' Innovations Bolster Covid Battle
Indian Navy Develops Innovative 'Evacuation Pod' to Airlift COVID-19 Patients - Video

Modi govt approves made-in-India rapid test kits after Chinese supply is delayed

An app to track case history
‘Sahaya Setuve’ Web app launched
Positive response to home delivery system

Apollo Group joins hands with Airtel to fight COVID-19

L&T Uses Artificial Intelligence To Support 20 Cities In Combating Against COVID-19

Online workshop for scientists and clinicians working on COVID-19 research

Tracking sewage to surveil COVID-19

Chennai Corporation's COVID-19 monitoring app helps to track containment zones

Six Indian companies working on COVID-19 vaccine, many challenges in finding a preventive: experts
Coronavirus: 6 Indian Companies Working On COVID-19 Vaccine, Say Experts

Start-up India receives over 550 tech proposals to fight Covid-19

How India's science capital is helping fight the corona battle
Stop, fight, kill: Karnataka opens multiple fronts in corona battle

The Crusaders: 10 Indian Startups Fighting The Pandemic With Cutting-Edge Tech

‘Low-cost innovation by MSMEs are key to minimising supply chain disruptions amid Covid-19’

Hack the Crisis – India selects top 10 innovative ideas to beat spread of Covid 19

SCTIMST scientists develop disinfection gateway & facemask disposal bin to fight COVID-19
SCTIMST for free tech transfer; inks MoU with HLL Lifecare for mass production of 3 innovations

How India’s ‘Smart Cities’ are fighting against COVID-19

We'll find a treatment for coronavirus – but drug companies will decide who gets it


Research & Innovations Issues

Belagavi ICMR demands BSL-3 lab to develop anti-covid drug

COVID-19: Is India equipped to carry out clinical trials on vaccines?

Emerging Technologies – Opportunities from the challenges posed by Covid-19

A credible policy and regulatory framework has thus become important for not only putting in place necessary safeguards but also for creating an enabling environment for new market opportunities and innovations. An agile governance structure that is sensitised to the needs of the community and the changing technology, and willing to work in collaboration with the ecosystem, can help India leverage the benefits that frontier technology has to offer. The experience of the past few weeks has demonstrated the capacity and willingness of the Government to act on these lines. Going forward, this needs to be institutionalised through appropriate mechanisms that allow for closer interaction and constant feedback mechanisms with the stakeholder communities, be it the academia, industry, startups, incubation centers and R&D hubs, to facilitate rapid growth for meeting the present and future challenges.

Research & Innovations Control Actions

Centre Invites Proposals To Study Yoga, Meditation Effects In Fighting COVID-19

COVID-19 India: PM Establishes Task Force For Scientific Validation of AYUSH Medicines

Govt to create innovations repository to fight pandemic


Research & Innovations Suggestive Actions

Opinion | How to fund innovation in the time of coronavirus

Covid-19: What India must do next| Analysis

The sixth step, research, has to not only meet these defensive challenges, but also launch an all-out offensive against the enemy. We must innovate at every step, use our fabled “jugaad” as a stop-gap defensive measure, while our premier research institutions work to provide new weapons in this fight.

While the challenges are severe, the unified response of the government, industry and academia in this time of crisis has been heartening. For example, to test widely, we need diagnostic kits. As global supplies of kits and their components start becoming scarce, Indian industry and start-ups, supported by academia, are developing indigenous alternatives. Medical researchers, epidemiologists, molecular biologists, and technocrats are jointly formulating strategies for minimum testing for maximum insight.

Apps like Aarogya Setu leverage India’s digital and telecom infrastructure and tech talent to supplement community testing and provide virtual intelligence. Previous investment in high-quality basic research is also paying off. The recent development of futuristic alternatives such as a Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR)-based paper strip test, which may eliminate the need for expensive and scarce real-time Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) machines, came from years of background work.

While issues remain in expeditiously bringing new tech to market — for example, sufficient quantities of the input materials for the CRISPR test are difficult to find — a strong academia-industry combine is working hard to overcome the obstacles. Meanwhile, numerous research labs across the nation are using their infrastructure to enhance the national Reverse Transcription (RT)-PCR testing capacity. Young companies funded by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and the Department of Biotechnology industry programmes are coming out with affordable and simple indigenous diagnostic systems that can be used by local centres without advanced infrastructure. Together, these form a viable plan to widen the testing net and effectively determine local and personal risks.

Similarly, procurement challenges in personal protective equipment (PPE), hospital beds, oxygen, ventilators, and newer anti-viral drugs, must be met by focused science. Towards this, Indian research organisations are using cross-sectoral strengths to create the necessary pipeline of products. When biohazard suit production was constrained by the unavailability of seam sealing tape, a sealant glue from submarine applications was substituted by Defence Research and Development Organisation, ensuring that these suits can be produced in large numbers, forming a robust line of defence for frontline health workers. An indigenous oxygen concentrator from the CSIR Venture Centre may make the difference between life and death for hypoxic patients, if central oxygen supply runs short.

Lifesaving drugs, with promise in Covid-19 treatment, are being synthesised by CSIR labs in collaboration with pharma majors. Inspiration from traditional medical systems is guiding the ministry of Ayush’s efforts. The idea is to not blindly copy anyone, but to take the best of what is available and by using universally-recognised scientific principles, modify it to local contexts and needs. We have bought ourselves time to prepare and have the scientific capacity to deliver. This war will be won by smart data-driven defence, coupled with strategic offence.

While the medical side defends with what they have, the research side must support them with what they need. Importantly, we must not take our eyes off the real solution — effective treatment and vaccines; developed in India for the world. We have the leadership to inspire and mobilise the public. Can science guide decisions to shape the public health response and to restart the economy? If we do this well, not only will we save grief to hundreds of thousands of Indians, but also contribute to global good and emerge a stronger nation.

Covid-19: 8 ways in which technology helps pandemic management


Research & Innovations Volunteer Actions

CODE19 hackathon begins: 6,000 tech minds to innovate against Coronavirus

IHF’s Quest to support innovations to tackle respiratory diseases, including Covid-19

Innovative ideas invited by US India S&T Endowment Fund to address COVID-19 challenge


Research & Innovations Private Actions

Startup Street: C-CAMP launches accelerator to fast-track COVID-19 related innovations

Here's how Indian startup Wingify is aiming to help fight COVID-19 crisis through Coronathon


Research & Innovations Innovative Actions

Govt to create innovations repository to fight pandemic