The Enterovirus Research Centre (ERC) at Mumbai, an accredited WHO global specialized laboratory for polio since 2000, has been merged with Pune-based National Institute of Virology (NIV) while Madurai based Centre for Research in Medical Entomology (CRME), a WHO collaborative research centre in filariasis and dengue, has now been fused with the Vector Control Research Centre (VCRC) at Pondicherry.

These three laboratories under the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) have been merged with sister institutes working in related or overlapping fields, as part of a restructuring exercise to bring in more efficiency. Likewise, ICMR’s virus unit at Kolkata will be merged with the National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases, Kolkata. There are plans to combine some other institutes as well.

As part of ICMR’s strategic plan and agenda for 2030, the research focus will be in attaining the sustainable development goals and pursuance of the national health policy 2017. The ICMR will develop research collaborations with AYUSH agencies with a focus on scientific validation of traditional remedies.