New Delhi, April 3 -- India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), which has been tracking the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) since the world media started reporting its devastating impact in China's Wuhan Province, took a call in the first week of March 2020 to enhance efforts to create countermeasures to stop the spread of the disease in India. DRDO started focusing on creating mass-supply solutions of critical medical requirements and by end of March it became ready with four different items - hand sanitizers, ventilators, facial masks and bodysuits.

A hand sanitizer, developed in-house at DRDO, was by third week of March, produced in sizable quantities and distributed to major offices and establishments within the ...