NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday requested the Center’s response to a PIL seeking an RT-PCR test cap for Covid-19 at Rs 400 for government and private laboratories and hospitals, saying the cost of the kits was lowered at Rs 200 now.
Petitioner Ajay Agrawal told a bank, headed by CJI SA Bobde, that while in Delhi the RT-PCR test cost around Rs 2,400, it ranged from Rs 900 (in Haryana) to Rs 3,200 (Meghalaya) in other states. “There is a lot of loot from the labs and they are minting money to the tune of millions of rupees. The profit margin is as high as 1400% in Andhra Pradesh and 1200% in Delhi. RT-PCR kits are available for less than Rs 200 in the Indian market. There is no other cost involved in conducting the test, ”he said.
The bank sought the response from the Center within two weeks and tagged it along with another PIL submitted by one Sachin Jain. He had sought affordable medical care and curbed the tendency for private hospitals to exploit the situation by overcharging patients.
Petitioner Ajay Agrawal told a bank, headed by CJI SA Bobde, that while in Delhi the RT-PCR test cost around Rs 2,400, it ranged from Rs 900 (in Haryana) to Rs 3,200 (Meghalaya) in other states. “There is a lot of loot from the labs and they are minting money to the tune of millions of rupees. The profit margin is as high as 1400% in Andhra Pradesh and 1200% in Delhi. RT-PCR kits are available for less than Rs 200 in the Indian market. There is no other cost involved in conducting the test, ”he said.
The bank sought the response from the Center within two weeks and tagged it along with another PIL submitted by one Sachin Jain. He had sought affordable medical care and curbed the tendency for private hospitals to exploit the situation by overcharging patients.
.
