8 COVID-19 related IIT-KGP projects approved

    Kolkata, Apr 20 (PTI) The Council of Indian Institutes
of Technology, the governing body of all the IITs, has
approved eight COVID-19 related projects submitted by the IIT
Kharagpur and the first phase of the projects is expected to
start immediately after the lockdown is relaxed.
    Researchers would be working on several projects such
as designing and developing bodysuit for COVID-19 patients,
personal protective equipment (PPE) for healthcare workers,
rapid diagnostic kit, and portable shredder integrated with
sterilizer, the statement said.
    Other projects approved by the IIT Council included
real-time PCR (Polymerase chain reaction) machine, suit with
forced purified and cooled air circulation for medical
professionals, bootstrapping ambu-bag as automated
ventilator, telemedicine for fighting a viral pandemic, large
scale production of recombinant proteins for vaccine and
testing.
    "IIT Kharagpur has set up research funding for R&D
work related to COVID-19. The Institute submitted a list of
projects to the IIT Council of which 8 projects have been
selected. An amount of Rs 50 Lakh has been allotted for phase
I of 8 projects towards development of prototypes," a
statement issued by the IIT-KGP said on Monday.
    For most of these projects, the prototypes are
expected to be ready within 3-4 weeks, while a couple of them
would take about 6 months to deliver the results, it said.
    IIT-KGP Director Prof Virendra Kumar Tewari said,
"While we built some quick technologies to cater to the
immediate needs of the essential service providers at the
campus, we were simultaneously preparing project proposals and
evaluating them keeping in mind the immediate need of the
country, cost and product delivery period.
    "IIT Kharagpur has a proven track record towards
development of indigenous health and hygiene technologies
which are affordable, high-quality at par with globally
accepted standards, and commercially viable, he said.
    "Our researchers are committed to deliver the
prototypes within a constrained timeline considering the
healthcare needs in the current situation, Tewari said. PTI
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(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)