He added that DRDO was prepared to provide all kinds of support when the need arises, and more flying hospitals would be ready, as was provided by DRDO in the second wave of COVID-19, to help the people.

“We established temporary hospitals specific to COVID 19 in many cities. These are modular hospitals, we call it flying hospitals, and these have been made in a way that the virus does not go out of hospitals. If there is any third wave, all the hospitals will be taking the load, and the government is discussing these aspects with various stakeholders,” said Dr Reddy.

He also underlined how DRDO is primarily carrying out research in advanced technology in defence and also concentrating on developing high-quality technology that will be beneficial for the people, at lower cost to match international level

Dr. Reddy was speaking at the online discourse series New India @ 75, organised by National Council for Science & Technology Communication and Vigyan Prasar.

Prof Ashutosh Sharma, Secretary, DST talked about various steps taken by the Central Government and DST to fight the pandemic and how to keep vaccines safe and to ensure it reaches every nook and corner of the country. He also spoke about ways in which Artificial Intelligence (AI) could play a greater role in fighting the pandemic.

“Technologies have been developed for storing and transporting vaccines to every nook and corner of the country. New ways of storing vaccines have been developed as per the Indian conditions. Convergence of technologies is the future, and AI can play a great role in diagnostics, telemedicine and will have tremendous importance in remote monitoring, diagnostics and decision-making in fighting pandemic,” Prof Sharma said.

Speaking about the 50 years of DST, he pointed out that it has been a long journey, and foundational technology has been seeded, establishing DST as a nursery to help, nurture and grow young talents for the progress and development of the country.

The MICU has two sets of Defibrillators, Multipara Monitors, Ventilator, Oxygen Support as well as Infusion and Syringe Pumps. It also has a suction system to clear secretions in the mouth or airway of the patient. The system can be operated on aircraft power supply and also has a battery back up of four hours. The equipment can be installed in two-three hours to convert the aircraft into an air ambulance. This is the first of eight MICU sets to be delivered by HAL to Indian Navy.

To meet the bulk production requirements, DMRL technology was transferred to M/s MIDHANI through a licensing agreement for technology transfer (LAToT). Using the isothermal forge press facility available at DMRL, Hyderabad, bulk quantity (200 numbers) of HPC disc forgings pertaining to various compressor stages have been jointly (DMRL & MIDHANI) produced and successfully supplied to HAL (E), Bengaluru for fitment in to Adour Engine that powers the Jaguar/Hawk Aircrafts.

In India, the Adour engine is overhauled by HAL (E), Bengaluru under a licensed manufacturing agreement with OEM. Like in any aeroengine, the HPC Drum assembly has to be replaced after a specified number of operations or in case of damage. The annual requirements of these high value HPC discs are quite large, warranting indigenisation. HPC drum is a highly stressed sub-assembly and is also subjected to low cycle fatigue and creep at elevated temperature. The raw materials and forgings for HPC drum are required to be of the highest quality which can meet the specified combination of static and dynamic mechanical properties.

DMRL developed this forging technology by integrating various science and knowledge-based tools. The methodology adopted by DMRL is generic in nature and can be tuned to develop other similar aeroengine components.  The compressor discs produced using this methodology met all the requirements stipulated by the airworthiness agencies for the desired application. Accordingly, the technology was type certified and letter of technical approval (LoTA) was accorded. Based on the exhaustive component level and performance evaluation test results, HAL (E) and Indian Air Force cleared the components for engine fitment. Apart from DMRL and HAL (E), various agencies such as MIDHANI, CEMILAC and DGAQA worked in unison to establish this crucial technology.

Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh has congratulated the scientists of DRDO, Industry and all other agencies involved in the development of this critical Aero Engine related technology.

Secretary Department of Defence R&D and Chairman DRDO Dr G Satheesh Reddy expressed his satisfaction on achieving this crucial milestone and congratulated the teams involved.

DIPCOVAN kit can detect both spike as well as nucleocapsid proteins of SARS-CoV-2 virus with a high sensitivity of 97 per cent and specificity of 99 per cent. DIPCOVAN kit was developed indigenously followed by extensive validation on more than 1,000 patients at various COVID designated hospitals in Delhi. Three batches of the product were validated during last one year. The antibody detection kit is approved by Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) in April 2021, said a defence ministry statement on Friday.

DIPCOVAN is intended for the qualitative detection of IgG antibodies in human serum or plasma, targeting SARS-CoV-2 related antigens. It offers a significantly faster turn-around-time as it requires just 75 minutes to conduct the test without any cross reactivity with other diseases. The kit has a shelf life of 18 months.

In May 2021, the product received the regulatory approval from the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI), Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO), Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, to manufacture for sale and distribution.

The kit is expected to be useful for understanding COVID‐19 epidemiology and assessing an individual’s previous SARS‐CoV‐2 exposure.

Defence Minister, Rajnath Singh has appreciated the efforts of DRDO and the industry in developing the kit at the time of need.

Secretary Department of Defence R&D & Chairman DRDO Dr G Satheesh Reddy complimented the teams involved in developing the kit and said the initiative will help the people during the pandemic.

Industry partner Vanguard Diagnostics Pvt. Ltd will commercially launch the product during the first week of June 2021. Readily available stock at the time of launch will be 100 kits (approx. 10,000 tests) with a production capacity of 500 kits per month after the launch. It is expected to be available at about Rs 75 per test.

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Keywords: DRDO, Antibody, Test kit, COVID-19, Defence Research and Development Organisation, 2-DG Drug, Institute of Physiology and Allied Sciences, DIPAS, DIPCOVAN, ELISA, Sero-surveillance

Pursuing Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s call for preparedness against the pandemic, DRDO took the initiative of developing anti-COVID therapeutic application of 2-DG. In April 2020, during the first wave of the pandemic, INMAS-DRDO scientists conducted laboratory experiments with the help of Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), Hyderabad and found that this molecule works effectively against SARS-CoV-2 virus and inhibits the viral growth. Based on these results, Drugs Controller General of India’s (DCGI) Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) permitted Phase-II clinical trial of 2-DG in COVID-19 patients in May 2020.

The DRDO, along with its industry partner DRL, Hyderabad, started the clinical trials to test the safety and efficacy of the drug in COVID-19 patients. In Phase-II trials (including dose ranging) conducted during May to October 2020, the drug was found to be safe in COVID-19 patients and showed significant improvement in their recovery. Phase IIa was conducted in six hospitals and Phase IIb (dose ranging) clinical trial was conducted at 11 hospitals all over the country. Phase-II trial was conducted on 110 patients.

In efficacy trends, the patients treated with 2-DG showed faster symptomatic cure than Standard of Care (SoC) on various endpoints. A significantly favourable trend (2.5 days difference) was seen in terms of the median time to achieving normalisation of specific vital signs parameters when compared to SoC.

Based on successful results, DCGI further permitted the Phase-III clinical trials in November 2020. The Phase-III clinical trial was conducted on 220 patients between December 2020 to March 2021 at 27 COVID hospitals in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The detailed data of phase-III clinical trial was presented to DCGI. In 2-DG arm, significantly higher proportion of patients improved symptomatically and became free from supplemental oxygen dependence (42% vs 31%) by Day-3 in comparison to SoC, indicating an early relief from Oxygen therapy/dependence.

The similar trend was observed in patients aged more than 65 years. On May 01, 2021, DCGI granted permission for Emergency Use of this drug as adjunct therapy in moderate to severe COVID-19 patients. Being a generic molecule and analogue of glucose, it can be easily produced and made available in plenty in the country.

The drug comes in powder form in sachet, which is taken orally by dissolving it in water. It accumulates in the virus infected cells and prevents virus growth by stopping viral synthesis and energy production. Its selective accumulation in virally infected cells makes this drug unique.

In the ongoing second COVID-19 wave, a large number of patients are facing severe oxygen dependency and need hospitalisation. The drug is expected to save precious lives due to the mechanism of operation of the drug in infected cells. This also reduces the hospital stay of COVID-19 patients.

Oxygen is a very important clinical gas in health care centres and hospitals for treatment of COVID‐19 Patients. Medical Oxygen Plant (MOP) technology is capable of generating oxygen with 93±3% concentration which can be directly supplied to hospital beds or can be used to fill medical oxygen cylinders. It utilizes Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) technique and Molecular Sieve (Zeolite) technology to generate oxygen directly from atmospheric air.

The MOP technology will be useful to provide oxygen supply during Corona Pandemic in hospitals in urban and rural areas. Hospitals will be able to generate on site medical oxygen, in a cost-effective manner with this oxygen plant rather than depending upon sourcing it from other places.

The installation of this plant helps in avoiding hospital dependency on scarce oxygen cylinders especially at high altitude and inaccessible remote areas. MOP has already been installed at some of the Army sites in North East and Leh-Ladakh region. The plant complies with International Standards like ISO 1008, European, US and Indian Pharmacopeia. Site preparation for 5 plants to be installed in Delhi/NCR region has already been initiated.

The DRDO has initiated fabrication of 380 numbers of Medical Oxygen Plants with release of Supply Orders for 332 numbers on M/s Tata Advanced Systems Limited, Bengaluru and 48 numbers on M/s Trident Pneumatics Pvt. Ltd., Coimbatore with a target of producing 125 plants per month under PM CARES Fund. With this it is expected that 500 Medical Oxygen Plants will be installed within three months.

Prior to these trials, extensive missile carriage flight tests were conducted at Bengaluru to assess integration of the missile with aircraft systems on board the Tejas, like Avionics, Fire-control radar, Missile Weapon Delivery System and the Flight Control System. At Goa, after successful separation trials, live launch of the missile on a Banshee target was carried out. Python-5 missile live firing was conducted to validate target engagement from all aspects as well as beyond visual ranges. In all the live firings, missile hit the aerial target.

The missiles were fired from Tejas aircraft of Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) flown by Indian Air Force (IAF) Test pilots belonging to National Flight Test Centre (NFTC). The successful conduct was made possible with years of hard work by the team of scientists, engineers and technicians from ADA and HAL-ARDC along with admirable support from CEMILAC, DG-AQA, IAF PMT, NPO (LCA Navy) and INS HANSA.

Helicopters used in strategic and defence applications need compact and powerful aero-engines for their reliable operation at extreme conditions. To achieve this, state-of-the-art Single Crystal Blades having complex shape and geometry, manufactured out of Nickel based superalloys capable of withstanding high temperatures of operation are used. Very few countries in the world such as USA, UK, France and Russia have the capability to design and manufacture such Single Crystal (SX) components.

The DMRL undertook this task based on its expertise gained during the development of such a technology for an aero-engine project earlier. Complete vacuum investment casting process to realise the blades, including die design, wax pattering, ceramic moulding, actual casting of components non-destructive evaluation (NDE), heat treatment and dimensional measurement, has been established at DMRL.

Special ceramic composition had to be formulated for making strong ceramic moulds which can withstand metallostatic pressure of liquid CMSX-4 alloy at 1500°C and above during casting operation. The challenge of maintaining the required temperature gradient has also been overcome by optimising the casting parameters. A multi-step vacuum solutionising heat treatment schedule for complex CMSX-4 superalloy to achieve the required microstructure and mechanical properties has also been established.Further, a stringent non-destructive evaluation (NDE) methodology for the blades along with the technique for determining their crystallographic orientations has been developed.

Hypoxia is a state in which the amount of oxygen reaching the tissues is inadequate to fulfill all the energy requirements of the body. This is exactly the situation that gets replicated in a Covid patient due to the virus infection and has been a leading factor in the current crisis.

The electronic hardware of the system is designed for functioning at extreme altitudes featuring low barometric pressures, low temperatures and humidity. The software safety checks incorporated into the system are critical in ensuring the functional reliability of the system in field conditions.

The system reads SpO2 levels of the subject from a wrist-worn pulse oximeter module through wireless interface and controls a proportional solenoid valve to regulate the oxygen supply to the subject. The oxygen is delivered from a lightweight portable oxygen cylinder through nasal nares. The system is available in various sizes from one litre and one kg weight with 150 litres of oxygen supply to 10 litres & 10 kg weight with 1,500 litres of oxygen supply which can sustain for 750 minutes with a continuous flow of two liters per min (lpm).

Since the system is indigenously developed for operation in field conditions, it is unique with its dual qualities of being robust & cheap and is already in bulk production with the industry.

The system is a boon in the current pandemic as it can be used in the household for moderate Covid patients for Oxygen flow therapy with flow controlled at 2/5/7/10 lpm flow. The automatic usage has huge advantage in the household, as the oximeter would give an alarm for lower SpO2 value. It will automatically increase/decrease the O2 flow based on SpO2 setting which can be auto adjusted at 2, 5, 7, 10 lpm flow rate. The optimal O2 flow rate conserves the O2 resources/O2 management and greatly increases the endurance.

With its availability and simple to use facility by a common person, the system shall greatly reduce the workload and exposure time of doctors and paramedics to monitor the SpO2 levels of the patient. The automated Calibrated Variable Flow Control for Low O2 levels (User pre-set, <90%, <80%) through a calibrated Flow Control Valve (PFCV) will facilitate in economising the oxygen supply (1-10 lpm with ±0.5 lpm). A moderate Covid patient requires longtime moderate O2 supply 10Litre/150bar–10kg–1500 litres which can sustain up to 750 minutes.

This automated, easy to use Oxygen Delivery System now available is a great boon particularly in these critical times when medical resources are stretched to their limits. Its proliferation would mitigate the crisis in management of such huge number of covid patients in many ways all across the country.

Recently, Indian Navy conducted trials of all three variants in the Arabian Sea on Indian Naval Ship and found the performance satisfactory.

Chaff is a passive expendable electronic countermeasure technology used worldwide to protect naval ships from enemy’s radar and Radio Frequency (RF) missile seekers. The importance of this development lies in the fact that very less quantity of chaff material deployed in the air acts as decoy to deflect enemy’s missiles for safety of the ships.

The DRDO has gained the expertise to meet the futuristic threats from adversaries. The technology is being given to the industry for production in large quantities.

Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh has congratulated DRDO, Indian Navy and Industry for the achievement.

Secretary Department of Defence R&D & Chairman DRDO Dr G Satheesh Reddy appreciated the efforts of the teams involved in the indigenous development of this vital technology to safeguard Indian Naval Ships.

Vice Chief of Naval Staff Vice Admiral G Ashok Kumar has applauded DRDO efforts in developing strategically important technology indigenously in a short span and cleared for bulk production.