Bhubaneswar: India’s scientific and research community have made significant contribution towards effective management of COVID-19 pandemic in the country, said Dr. Renu Swarup, Union Secretary of Department of Biotechnology. She inaugurated the webinar COVID – 19 Management through science and technology, jointly transited by National Academy of Sciences and Institute of Life Sciences, Bhubaneswar.
Dr. Swarup complemented the efforts of Indian Scientists in testing efforts as well as various research initiatives on diagnostics, therapeutics, genome sequencing, vaccine development and creation of facilities and resources for promoting further research and developments in finding lasting solutions for COVID-19. She commended the academic and industry partnerships in making effective use of resources and making India self-sufficient in the manufacture of diagnostic kits, PPEs and vaccines etc in record time. All these efforts will go a long way in our preparedness in addressing COVID-19 effectively as well as any future challenges, she said.
Dr. Manju Sharma, Former Secretary, Department of Biotechnology addressing the meeting mentioned that the scientific community has a major role to play in communicating the science-based factual details for the benefit of the public. Prof. G. Padmanaban, President NASI opined that the untiring efforts of the scientific community have made possible for us reach to development and delivery of vaccines in a record time.
Dr. Ajay Parida, Director, Institute of Life Sciences, Bhubaneswar highlighted the research and development initiatives of the institute in response to COVID-19 diagnostic, genome surveillance and creation of platforms for drug and vaccine testing.
Dr. Sudhanshu Vrati, Director, RCB, Faridabad; Dr. Sanghamitra Pati, Drector, RMRC, Bhubaneswar; Dr. Ishan Patro, Jiwaji University, Gwalior and Dr. Subhra Chakraborty, Director, NIPGR, New Delhi spoke in the webinar on various technological approaches in managing COVID-19 pandemic. The participants complemented the efforts of the DBT institutions and NASI in providing topical information on the COVID pandemic.
