ICMR chooses Bengaluru for South India’s first Infectitious Disease Research & Diagnostic Laboratory

From Our Special Correspondent

Daijiworld Media Network

Bengaluru, Jan 10: The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has chosen Bengaluru Medical College & Research Institute (BMC&RI) as its centre to establish South India’s first Infectious Disease Research and Diagnostic Laboratories (IRDLs).

The ICMR is setting up IRDLs across various states and it’s an honour that BMC&RI has been selected. 3

Dr Sharan Prakash Patil, Minister For Medical Education, Skill Development, Entrepreneurship and Livelihood, said the credibility and service approach to the all sections of society in the state made ICMR choose BMC&RI.

Dr Patil highlighted the importance of the project that research on infectious diseases will take place in Bengaluru laboratories and there will be no need to send samples to other state for confirmation.

The central government is taking steps to establish IRDLs in medical colleges across states, with a focus on virology research and diagnostic laboratories (VRDLs) related to bacteriology, mycology, and parasitology.

This initiative will enable more in-depth research on diagnostics and aims to enhance the capabilities of medical institutions in this area.

Under the IRDL project, special attention will be given to capacity building in three critical areas:

Bacteriology: identification of bacterial pathogens; improving diagnostic accuracy; research on new bacterial strains and antibiotic resistance patterns
Mycology: identification and treatment of fungal infections
Parasitology: study of parasitic organisms, particularly those causing infections in tropical regions, with a focus on improving diagnostics and management.

The minister also inaugurated Moniz cath lab suite — is a state-of-the-art DSA Cath Lab at the trauma & emergency care centre (TECC) in the Victoria hospital. This cath lab has a ward with 8 beds in addition to pre-cath and post-cath wards.

This cath lab will enhance services to unavailable areas like: coronary angiography & angioplasty, cardiac procedures for other diseases, cerebral angiography, interventional nueuroradiological procedures like aneurysm coiling, AVM embolization, stroke management – intra-arterial thrombolysis, thrombectomy, angioplasty, interventional radiological procedures like uterine artery embolization, fibroid embolization, tumor embolization, TACE, peripheral angiography and angioplasty.

Dr Patil also inaugurated two auditoriums at Trauma & Emergency Care Centre and Minto Eye Hospital for academic and recreational activities. The auditorium at TECC is named former President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam.

Minto Eye Hospital auditorium has been funded by Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences (RGUHS). Both the auditoriums has a state of the art audio visual equipment and digital podium along with a comfortable dinging area and has 150-180 seating capacity.

Apart from academic activities like CMES , operative workshops and conferences, seminars, training events. It can also be a centre for cultural exchange activities.

Focus on job creation, skill development

The State Government is systematically planning initiatives to create jobs and enhance the skills of the youth. Several measures were launched on Friday to drive this vision, said Dr. Sharanprakash Patil after inaugurating the GTTC industry-academia conclave.

The minister emphasized the importance of bridging the gap between educational institutions and industries. The conclave, aimed at providing skill training to rural women and students, is a platform to promote collaboration, partnerships, innovation and skill development to meet the demands of the job market.

“Our goal is to establish the state as a hub for skill development,” Dr Patil said, explaining that the state has signed several agreements to enhance skill power. A skill academy will be established in Sandur, Ballari, at a cost of Rs 300 crore to meet the growing demand for skilled workers in the industrial and business sectors, the minister revealed.

Additionally, GTTC multi skill development centres will be set up in Kalaburagi (in collaboration with Gulbarga University), Talakal in Koppal, and Varuna in Mysuru in partnership with Visvesvaraya Technological University.

Skill locally, work globally

“Skill Locally, Work Globally” is the government’s core mantra. The state is preparing to establish multiple GTTC centers across the state to provide skill-based training to youth in all regions. Dr. Patil added that Karnataka is proud to prepare students in 18 skill categories for the upcoming India Skills 2025 competition and the World Skills Competition 2026.

In the Field of Information Technology: Agreements have been signed with Intel, IBM, NASSCOM, and Tesla for training purposes. In the Mechanical Sector: Collaborations have been established with Toyota, Siemens, AutoDesk, and Mastercam. For green skills development, partnerships have been made with GIZ. In the Education Sector: Agreements have been signed with IISc, VTU, Gulbarga University, RNSIT, and BNMIT to enhance skill development training.

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