The apex court sought an answer from the government to keep the price of PCR tests the same in the country

New delhi date. Tuesday, November 24, 2020

Corona's fate in the world is still the same. Amid the Corona epidemic in India, the issue of Corona's costly test has reached the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court on Tuesday sought a reply from the Center to make the RT-PCR test for corona available at the same price across India. During the hearing of a public interest litigation, the apex court asked the central government to respond.

A bench comprising Chief Justice S A Bobde and Justice A S Bopanna and Justice V Ramasubramaniam issued notices to the health ministry. The PIL sought to keep the cost of Corona's RT-PCR test the same across the country.

The application states that the cost of the test in different states is Rs 900 to Rs 2,800. The petition seeks a uniform price of Rs 400 across the country.

The petitioner said in his application that a big robbery was being carried out by private pathology laboratories and they were earning crores of rupees. Their profit margins are very high.

He claimed that the RT-PCR kit is available in the Indian market for Rs 200. Apart from this there is no other cost involved in performing RC-PCR test. However, pathology laboratories are charging many times more. A further hearing in this regard will take place in two weeks.

It is to be mentioned that due to the epidemic of Koro, the people have been confined within the four walls of the house. Many people have lost their jobs due to Corona virus and lockdown. In such a situation it is not advisable to pay a large amount for RC-PCR test.