VP Naidu advises DRDO scientists to intensify research to combat pandemic threats

On Monday, the Vice President, M Venkaiah Naidu, applauded the contribution of scientists and frontline workers from DIPAS (Defence Institute of Physiology and Allied Sciences), a DRDO lab, in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic in the nation and urged them to intensify their research to combat any such pandemic in the future effectively.

The DIPAS is a wing of the Defence Research and Development Organisation - DRDO under the Ministry of Defence, Government of India that researches ways to improve human performance in extreme and wartime environments.

VP Naidu advises DRDO scientists to intensify COVID research in India

Speaking with the scientists and researchers, Vice President Naidu admired the role of DRDO labs in the operation and supervision of COVID across the Nation. Naidu also advised the DRDO scientists to increase and enhance research to effectively and efficiently tackle the threat of pandemics in the days to come.

Nearly 25 scientists and technicians from DIPAS were called upon to the Upa-Rashtrapati Nivas by the Vice President. They were accompanied by DRDO Chairman Dr G. Satheesh Reddy.

VP lauds DIPAS for developing indigenous products for COVID treatment

VP Naidu said, "The pandemic has triggered unprecedented health crisis and has also severely impacted lives and livelihoods across the globe." Lauding DIPAS and other DRDO labs for taking an active role in the noble job and their contributions in developing several indigenous products for treatment and control of COVID, he said, "In the wake of the emergence of new variants of SARS-CoV-2, it is important to be ever vigilant to effectively tackle any future threats."

Meanwhile, DRDO Chairman Dr Reddy informed the Vice President about several products and equipment developed indigenously by DRDO labs to treat and manage COVID. Chairman Reddy also expressed his gratefulness to the Vice President for inviting the scientists and technicians and sharing his thoughts.

DIPAS 

According to the official website of the DIPAS, Defence Institute of Physiology & Allied Sciences (DIPAS) researches in the field of physiology, biochemistry and nutrition to improve the operational efficiency of soldiers with micro and macro environments. The organisational study also includes physiological adaptation to environmental stress and human engineering for an effective man-machine interface.

The prime research areas of DIPAS among many include high and extreme altitude physiology, heat, cold and polar physiology, exercise physiology, neurophysiology, yoga and adaptogens for performance improvement, clinical and cellular biochemistry, the anthropometric database of Indian soldiers, nutrition for armed forces, man-machine interface.

Image Credit: Vice President of India Twitter