The RCI, a premier laboratory of DRDO based at Hyderabad, has developed an automated contactless UVC sanitising cabinet to sanitise mobile phones, iPads, laptops, currency notes, cheque leafs, challans, passbooks, and paper as the country scrambles to deal with the Coronavirus pandemic.

Research Centre Imarat (RCI), a part of Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO), developed the Defence Research Ultraviolet Sanitiser (DRUVS).

DRDO said on Sunday that DRUVS Cabinet has a contactless operation which is very important to contain the spread of virus. The proximity sensor switches clubbed with drawer opening and closing mechanism makes its operation automatic and contactless.

The DRUVS provides 360 degree exposure of UVC to the objects placed inside the cabinet. Once the sanitisation is done, the system goes in sleep mode, hence the operator need not wait or stand near the device, said a statement.

RCI has also developed an automated UVC currency sanitising device called NOTESCLEAN. Bundles of currency notes can be sanitised using DRUVS, however disinfection of each currency note using it, will be a time-consuming process. For that purpose, a sanitising technique has been developed, where one has to just place the loose currency notes at the input slot of the device. It picks the notes one by one and makes them pass through a series of UVC lamps for complete disinfection, it said.

The need for such a device arises as the number of Coronavirus cases continue to rise in the country.

India on Monday recorded 4,213 cases of Coronavirus in the last 24 hours, marking the biggest single-day jump, taking the total number of infections to 67,152 in the country.

As many as 97 deaths were reported in the same period taking the toll to 2,206.

Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan on Saturday stated that India was totally prepared for the worst possible scenario as the Coronavirus cases continue to rise. A day before, on Friday, the Government had stressed on the need to “learn to live with the virus” and called for “behavioural changes”.

All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS) Director Randeep Guleria had last week said that India may witness the peak of Coronavirus cases in June or July.

(With inputs from IANS)