IIT-Delhi develops world’s cheapest Covid-19 testing kit; costs Rs 650, test result in 3 hours

New Delhi: Union Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank and MoS Sanjay Dhotre launched world’s most affordable Covid-19 test developed by IIT Delhi on Wednesday.

The testing kit, Corosure, is the world’s most affordable probe free RT-PCR based Covid-19 diagnostic kit.

The HRD minister described the launch as a “historic occasion” and lauded the team of experts at IIT Delhi for developing the diagnostic kit.

Launching the world’s most affordable probe free RT-PCR based #COVID19 diagnostic kit, along with MoS for HRD Shri @SanjayDhotreMP ji. #AatmaNirbharBharat https://t.co/7u9dqR79W9

— Dr. Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank (@DrRPNishank) July 15, 2020

The test kit uses an alternative testing method for testing Covid-19 samples and is launched by the company Newtech Medical under the name ‘Corosure’.

Corosure, the corona testing kit developed by IIT Delhi

According to the team at IIT Delhi, the current testing methods available are “probe-based”, while the one developed by them is a “probe-free” method, which reduces the testing cost without compromising on accuracy.

“This should change the paradigm of Covid-19 testing in the country, both in terms of scale and cost. The company Newtech Medical Devices, using IIT Delhi technology, can do two million tests per month at an extremely affordable cost. This is a true example of lab to market,” IIT Delhi Director V Ramgopal Rao said.

Now, Covid-19 test @ just Rs 650/-

During the event, Jatin Goyal, managing director of Corosure, said the total cost of the kit roughly comes to around Rs 650, reported a leading portal.

Meanwhile, the global coronavirus count is now over 1.32 crore, while the toll has crossed 5.77 lakh, according to the Johns Hopkins University. More than 73 lakh people have recovered so far.