Lab warriors must stay in a state of high alert Premium 3 min read Read Full Story India’s second wave of covid has thrown us into a full-blown war. In any such outbreak, research and development (R&D) always plays a vital role. It should not surprise us, therefore, that the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), our premier developer of weaponry, has had its laboratories whirring away. It is the country’s most heavily funded R&D institution, after all, with a budget that is the envy of others. What has lifted spirits in a manner we did not exactly expect, however, is its quick adaptation of a few pre-pandemic initiatives to shield the country from the dreaded affliction. Since covid struck India last year, the DRDO has offered us innovations on the fronts of both therapy and life support. It has come up with a drug that may prove useful in covid treatment, for example, and an aircraft oxygen machine rejigged for hospital use. If it can also adapt its covid efforts to preparations for a potential third wave of infections, it would do the nation a service worthy of its stature.