More and more fortune 500 companies are showing their interests genomics, bioinformatics and precision medicine and hospitals IT shops. Technology giants around the world in particular are investing in precision medicine. Recently Google and Microsoft funded around 58 billion in precision medicine solution, DNA nexus.

India is already the pharmacy of the world, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw said, and hoped for more engagement of the government’s imagination with the sector. “Sixty per cent of the vaccines that are produced for the world come from India, why are we not really thinking about vaccine diplomacy for the world?” she asked.

The total coronavirus cases mounted to 57,32,518 with 86,508 people testing positive in a day while the death toll climbed to 91,149 with 1,129 people succumbing to the disease in a span of 24 hours, the data updated at 8am showed. The total recoveries surged to 46,74,987 in the country so far.

Terming Kerala as ‘a champion in healthcare sector’, Pitroda said other states haven’t followed the ‘Kerala model’. "Kerala can be a model for the world in various sectors. The state should be able to emerge as a laboratory of new ideas," he said.

LUCKNOW: With the price of RTPCR test kits and reagents used for coronavirus testing coming down, the Uttar Pradesh government has reduced the charge for conducting COVID-19 test to Rs 1,600 from Rs 2,500 by all labs including those privately owned.