New Delhi: Amid COVID-19 outbreak, knowledge organisations across the country have started creating scientific awareness on COVID-19 using social, print and electronic media and have started initiatives for building resilience at community level during and post lockdown period in response to the advisory issued by the Department of Science &Technology (DST) as part of their Scientific Social Responsibility (SSR).
Professor Ashutosh Sharma, Secretary, DST, while elaborating the need for immediate and long term S&T interventions urged that the SSR is the way forward and the actions reported reflects the spirit of service and voluntarily contribution of the knowledge and resources of our scientists to the widest spectrum of stakeholders in society. He added that the focus will be there on socioeconomic rejuvenation and resilience.
DST funded labs CSIR-NBRI, ICAR Labs, Chandigarh University, Manipur University, SKAUST, Srinagar, Baba Farid University of Health Sciences, Faridkot, Punjab contributed their knowledge and resources for the development and distribution of sanitizer as per World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines, mask preparation as per the guidelines issued by Principal Scientific Advisor (PSA) and services for COVID 19 testing.
A mobile App based regular advisory to pregnant women has been initiated under already ongoing projects at AIIMS New Delhi. Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences & Technology of Kashmir (SKAUST), Srinagar initiated a telemedicine facility for monitoring the health of farm animals under ongoing projects.
To address breathing-related issues, a herbal decongestion spray on the principles of Ayurveda has been developed. More than 5000L of sanitizer has been distributed among the migrant population at AIIMS-New Delhi, Safdurjung-New Delhi, Police Department of Haryana &Punjab, and UP and the process is continuing towards the containment of the disease.
