October 4, 2025 | 04:51 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - When COVID-19 struck in 2020, India faced a daunting reality: it had only one molecular testing laboratory and little domestic diagnostic capacity. To overcome this, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) coordinated efforts between academia, startups, and industry to validate more than 1,800 diagnostic assays, of which nearly 900 were approved.
“Within two years, the ICMR led a transformation that turned India into a global example of pandemic resilience,” said Dr. Rajiv Bahl, Secretary of the Department of Health Research and Director General of ICMR, on Friday, September 26, 2025, during a Familiarization Visit of Journalists from South-East Asia to India from September 23 to October 2, 2025.
A staff member of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) in New Delhi is explaining the works of the ICMR during the Familiarization Visit of Journalists to India, September 26, 2025. Tempo/Petir Garda Bhwana
Bahl said that the cost of laboratory test that uses reverse transcription and polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) to detect the genetic material of viruses fell to less than US$1, making large-scale testing affordable for India.
“From one lab, the network expanded to more than 3,300 across the country, ensuring that testing reached even rural regions,” he stated.
In parallel, ICMR partnered with Bharat Biotech to develop Covaxin, India’s first indigenous COVID-19 vaccine, which received WHO approval in November 2021, said Bahl.
He claimed that the council also facilitated bridging studies for other vaccines, ensuring India had a diverse portfolio across seven platforms.
Bahl also highlighted ICMR’s role in guiding clinical management. He said that its participation in WHO-led trials confirmed the benefits of steroids and anti-virus like Remdesivir. These findings shaped treatment protocols not only in India but also in other low- and middle-income countries.
He argued that ICMR’s ability to mobilize resources quickly reflected decades of institution-building during the COVID-19 era. “The COVID-19 response showed the council’s agility — it could innovate, validate, and implement at scale,” Bahl said.
Although the pandemic tested India’s health system, it also demonstrated how science-led policy could save lives. Bahl believed that ICMR’s model of rapid diagnostics, indigenous vaccines, and evidence-driven treatment would shape the country’s preparedness for future crises.
Regional Collaboration
Dr RR Gangakhedkar, Director of Epidemic Diseases at ICMR, stated that, in 2019, the council had also established ‘RESEARCH,’ the ‘Regional Enabler for South-East Asia Research Collaboration for Health,’ with 9 countries of the South-East Asian region.
The countries ICMR collaborated with are Indonesia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Maldives, DPR Korea, Myanmar, and Nepal.
This platform, under the World Health Organisation - South East Asian Regional Organisation (WHO-SEARO), works together to effectively combat emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases in the South East Asia region.
“The research platform will be provided with technical support by WHO, which will also act as coordinator," Gangakhedkar explained.
He cited the successful prevention of the Zika virus infection by India as an example of how the country has taken the lead in this initiative to gain a better understanding of these issues.
“Given India’s success in curbing international outbreaks such as Zika and the Nipah virus infections, Asian countries have decided to come together and selected India to lead the initiative. India (ICMR) will be the secretariat right now; later, other countries too will get the chance," said Gangakhedkar.
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