New Delhi: Facing delays in the delivery of rapid testing kits from China, the Narendra Modi government has now cleared made-in-India kits, alongside those from other countries like South Korea, Germany and France.
The Indian firms approved to supply these kits are Gujarat-based Voxtur Bio, Delhi-based Vanguard Diagnostics and the government-owned HLL Lifecare.
On 4 April, India’s apex medical research body, ICMR, had approved the use of these tests in areas with a high number of Covid-19 cases (clusters), as well as those with large migration and a high number of evacuees.
Rapid antibody tests are prick-based tests that can detect the presence of coronavirus antibodies. They provide quick results and don’t need to be conducted in laboratories.
Delay in delivery
The government had placed an order for seven lakh kits with Chinese firms, which were supposed to deliver the consignment by 8 April. Overall, ICMR has invited bids for 45 lakh testing kits.
“There is a shortage of cargo planes due to which kits are stuck at ports. Basically, companies are facing logistics issues,” said G.S.K. Velu, chairman and managing director of Chennai-based Trivitron Healthcare, which imports kits from Chinese manufacturers.
“We had placed orders for testing kits from our supplier in China and currently they are facing delays in executing orders. I hope to get them by this week or next,” Velu said.
The delay in deliveries from China is leading to the postponement of the testing drive, which is critical at this juncture when India has crossed 10,000 Covid-19 cases.
Also read: Rajasthan has done 30,000 tests, a reason why it could see more cases: Top health official
New approvals
Apart from the Indian firms, the ICMR and Drug Controller General of India Tuesday approved new testing kit manufacturers from Korea, Germany and France, as well as more Chinese firms.
According to the 8 April list of approved manufacturers, 33 suppliers were approved — 31 Chinese firms, one Korean firm and one from Israel.
In the latest list, dated 14 April, 51 manufacturers have been approved, of which 40 are Chinese, five Korean, one French, one German, one Israeli and three Indian firms.
What happens in a rapid antibody test?
A rapid antibody test shows if a person once infected by the coronavirus has developed immunity to it.
The human body develops two kinds of antibodies — immunoglobulin M (IgM) and immunoglobulin G (IgG). These antibodies remain in the body from between a month to a year, or even longer in some cases.
The IgM antibody arrives within five to seven days of acquiring the infection, whereas IgG arrives later, when the person has recovered. When a person is IgG-positive, it means that the person has been exposed to the infection and their body has developed the immune response.
These tests are relatively cheap compared to the RT-PCR test, which is currently the standard Covid-19 test being carried out in the country. It costs Rs 4,500 to get an RT-PCR test done in a private lab. A rapid antibody test, meanwhile, costs approximately Rs 300.
Also read: ICMR advises ‘pool testing’ in low-infection areas to increase number of Covid-19 tests
Belance inquare
Abhi to chines saman se Toba karo kis liye yeh polition kuchh fiyede ke liye Indian ki jaan ke sath khel rahe ho yeh kit to kafi samay pehle hi approved Kar Deni chahiye thi
Why are trivializing headline stating Modi Govt approves… You can simply say Govt. of India approves…. Why you have to state Govt. is only Modi’s? Not expected by print media like yours. Learn etiquettes.
Govt may try to ban all Chinese products. Made in India may be the solution for all products. Tiktok should be banned from India.
Nhi aaya
Bharich
What happened to the Indian test kits developed by Mylan, Pune, which costs about 1200 INR as per earlier reports?
These tests are NOT useful.
IgM is made 10 days post infection
IgG is made 12 days post infection
RTPCR is the Only screening for day 1,2, 3 post infection and to quarantine!
I agree 100%.
100% of 3.5 million Chinese antibody test kits supplied to the UK were defective. Similar numbers from Turkey, the Czech Republic, Spain and more have been cited. In the meantime, large law firms like DLA Piper are proposing FCPA compliance measures for firms buying medical supplies from China during this pandemic on the FCPA Blog. And… India conveniently approved 31 Chinese firms to supply these? Somewhere, something smells rank. And, someone’s almost certainly profiting from this cynical trade in death. Hopefully, they won’t get away with it. Indian citizens deserve better than Narendra Modi’s fan following for Xi Jinping and everything Chinese. It would be interesting to see a list of importers who managed to get these kits approved, and of the authorities who gave them their approval.
In general, the quality of indian products also can’t be guaranteed unless used in bulk. Had Indian manufacturers maintained good quality comensurate with the price of their product, Chinese could not have conquered the indian market.
Let’s take this as a step in the right direction and remove dependencies on as much Chinese goods as possible.