THE MUCH-FEARED THIRD wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, borne by the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, came, saw, but didn’t conquer. And thank goodness for that. But while the wave created barely a ripple, it did bring in a new dynamic into the testing ‘industry’, one that looks set to stay with us for the foreseeable future. And that is the rise of home-based rapid antigen test (RAT) kits as a significant and more private—albeit not quite as effective—alternative to the now ubiquitous RT-PCR test. RAT is a point-of-care test that is used for quick diagnosis of an infectious disease, at home or in an emergency situation before admitting a patient into a hospital. The “at home”, “innovative” and “quick” Covid-19 testing idea is being sold smartly offline and online, giving rise to an entirely new market in the Indian pharmaceutical and diagnostics industry. In May 2021, the Indian Council of Medical
Research (ICMR) had approved a home-based RAT kit manufactured by Mylab Discovery Solutions, Pune. Since then, Abbott, Tata Medical and Diagnostics, and Trivitron Healthcare have also entered into the home-based Covid-19 testing business, and several others are planning to jump in soon. This helped ramp up the testing numbers during the Omicron wave in December-February. As on March 10, 2022, India had conducted 775,336,978 tests out of which 441,517,381 were RTPCR and 333,819,597 were RATs, including 594,541 home-based RATs, according to the ICMR. In fact, according to the Union health ministry, more than 200,000 home test kits were used in the first 20 days of January 2022—when Omicron was at its peak—in contrast to just 3,000 since May 2021, when the ICMR approved Covid-19 home tests.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة April 03, 2022 من Business Today.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.
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هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة April 03, 2022 من Business Today.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
A Man of Multitudes
IN A NEW BOOK, CAPTAINS OF INDIA INC. AND OTHERS PAY TRIBUTE TO RAHUL BAJAJ, THE TITAN OF INDIAN INDUSTRY
HOUSE OF THE RISING SUN
WITH THE GOVERNMENT OFFERING SUBSIDIES UNDER THE PM SURYA GHAR MUFT BIJLI YOJANA, MANY HOUSEHOLDS HAVE TAKEN A SHINE TO SOLAR ROOFTOP PANELS. BUT HOW MUCH DO THEY COST?
FROM GREY TO GREEN
WITH THE CLIMATE CRISIS BECOMING MORE ACUTE, GREEN HYDROGEN COULD BE AN IMPORTANT SOLUTION
ECO CHAMBER
DATA CENTRES ARE A VERY VITAL PART OF THE DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION THAT IS UNDERWAY, BUT THERE'S A PROBLEM: THEY CONSUME TOO MUCH ENERGY. AS DEMAND FOR SUCH CENTRES INCREASES IN INDIA, IT HAS NO OPTION BUT TO EMBRACE GREEN SOLUTIONS
THE GREEN BARRIER
THE EU'S CARBON BORDER ADJUSTMENT MECHANISM COULD MAKE INDIAN EXPORTS UNCOMPETITIVE, UNLESS EFFORTS TO REDUCE CARBON EMISSIONS ARE ACCELERATED
HUMANISING SUSTAINABILITY
THERE IS A NEED TO MOVE BEYOND INDIVIDUAL WELL-BEING AND FOSTER A SENSE OF INTERCONNECTEDNESS AND SOLIDARITY
DE-RISKING THE BOOKS
INDIAN BANKS ARE BEGINNING TO TAKE BABY STEPS TOWARDS ADDRESSING CLIMATE-RELATED FINANCIAL RISKS IN THEIR BOOKS. BUT THEY MUST PUT THEIR FOOT ON THE PEDAL AND ENHANCE PREPAREDNESS
PAYING FOR CHANGE
WITH EXTREME WEATHER INCREASINGLY PUTTING THE COUNTRY AND ITS ECONOMY AT RISK, INDIA SHOULD EXPLORE CLIMATE FINANCE PATHWAYS TO FUND ITS NET-ZERO JOURNEY TOWARDS A GREENER FUTURE
BEYOND THE BLIP
ESG HAS BEEN UNDER SCRUTINY GLOBALLY AMID ALLEGATIONS OF GREENWASHING AND RECORD REDEMPTIONS FROM ESG FUNDS. BUT THAT MAY JUST BE ONE SIDE OF THE STORY, SINCE SUSTAINABLE PRACTICES HAVE BECOME CORE COMPONENTS OF COMPANIES' STRATEGIES
PROFITING FROM ESG
INITIALLY DRIVEN BY REGULATORY COMPLIANCE REQUIREMENTS, BUSINESSES ARE INCREASINGLY VIEWING ESG AS A TOOL TO ENHANCE PROFITABILITY. BUT THERE IS STILL A LONG WAY TO GO