DRDO shifts testing facility from Gwalior to Delhi to ensure swift delivery of PPEs

To ensure swift deliveryof personal protective equipment (PPE) to fight the coronavirus pandemic, the Defence Research and Development Organisation has shifted itstesting facility from Gwalior to the national capital, officials said on Thursday.

The DRDO has shifted its testing facility from the Defence Research Development Establishment (DRDE), Gwalior to the Institute of Nuclear Medicine & Allied Sciences (INMAS) in Delhi, they said.

The INMAS is a premier life science laboratory of the DRDO.

"The facility at INMAS is fully operational for testing and evaluation of body suits and masks. More than 10 batches of these items have already been tested at the laboratory," the DRDO said in a statement.

Officials said the move has been made to overcome delays and ensureswift deliveryof personal protective equipment and face masks.

The DRDE, Gwalior which has been at the forefront in fighting COVID-19, has now been tasked to confirm the label claims of masks and body suits received by the government-owned HLL Lifecare Limited from foreign countries, before they are distributed to various agencies, the statement said.