Kochi, Apr 26: efforts were on to isolate the SARS virus at the Indian Council for Agricultural Research laboratory at Bhopal, ICAR director general, Dr Mangala Rai, said today. The Director General of the Indian Council for Medical Research had sought Rai's permission in this regard and it had been granted, Rai told reporters here.

The Bhopal lab was one of the best in the country, he said.

At the CSIR laboratory in Delhi, a gene had been synthesised which was immune to certain viruses and these genes were being cloned, Rai said. With India having an 8,000 km coastline, the sea was a very good source of reserves on the medical front. It was also a good source of value-added products.

While India presently accounted for only 0.26 per cent of global agricultural trade, including fisheries it was expected to go up to one per cent by the year 2007, he added.

A Rs 3.5 crore referral lab would be ready here by December this year, he said.

Rai earlier Inaugurated an Agricultural Technology information centre here, which would serve as a single window system and make available all technological information, besides providing diagnostic and advisory services to farmers and stakeholders. Bureau Report