India has started manufacturing indigenous swabs for Covid-19 testing, with two firms —Tulips and a Mumbai-based Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) — getting a green signal from the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) and the National Institute for Virology in Pune. The swabs will cost one-tenth of the imported swabs currently in use, bringing down the cost of Covid-19 testing.

from Times of India https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/2-firms-get-govt-nod-to-produce-desi-swabs-for-cheaper-covid-19-test-kits/articleshow/75783445.cms