The Punjab government claimed on Monday that the Government of India has given in-principle approval on Monday for setting up a National Institute of Virology Centre for the north zone in Punjab. Chief minister (CM) Amarinder Singh had proposed the centre some weeks back in light of the Covid pandemic.
At present, the National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune is the only institute in the country that provides a well-coordinated medical and public health response to such an emergency.
The CM said, “This centre would prove to be a milestone to boost research in the field of virology, make India future ready to predict and detect viruses at the earliest so that necessary preventive steps can be taken.”
Captain further said that this centre would also go a long way in addressing the requirements of the northern regions including Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Chandigarh and Jammu & Kashmir.
The state government has been told to identify about 25 acres of land on long lease so that Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) can set up this centre.
Notably, the Punjab CM had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 10 requesting him to direct the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to set up the proposed centre, which would focus on addressing regional, national and global needs in virology, diagnostic, research and therapeutic evaluations to cope with the Covid-19 pandemic.
He had proposed a specialised centre in Medicity, New Chandigarh, which would be well placed to serve the interests of the North-Western region given Chandigarh’s international air connectivity. He also pointed out that the centre could easily be incubated in Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), which is located only 7-8 kilometres from the proposed Medicity.
An approximate amount of ₹400 crore would be required for the centre with Biosafety level 3 (BSL-3) facility and an additional ₹150 crore would be needed for the BSL-4 facility excluding the land, which would be provided by the Government of Punjab.
