India moves to procure more Covid-19 test kits from Korean firms

India’s ambassador to South Korea Sripriya Ranganathan visited the firm’s — SD Biosensor — facility in north Chungcheong province in South Korea and has tied up the arrangements.

The company has decided to manufacture these kits in a week, and will make more in the next few weeks.

This comes as the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) on Tuesday advised states not to use the testing kits for the next two days, stating that it will issue an advisory after medical teams carry out field validation of the kits.

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Besides, India is procuring another 5 lakh coronavirus testing kits from South Korea to meet their growing demand in view of rising cases of the infection.

The Indian embassy in Seoul inked a deal with South Korean pharma giant Humasis Ltd to procure the kits, sources said. The company is sourcing raw materials for production of the testing kits from India, officials said.

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Over the past few weeks, several Indian agencies and private companies have sourced 4.5 lakh testing kits from South Korea.

India has received 6.5 lakh testing kits from China last week. Sources said India is also also looking at procuring medical equipment, including testing kits from the UK, the US, France, Japan, Malaysia and Germany.

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