ICMR Director General V.M. Katoch said the council has approved proposals from four institutes, including Delhi University, and Indian Institutes of Technology at Delhi and Mumbai.

He said China is also working on producing the natural source for the antivirals that can combat the H1N1 influenza virus.

'Our prices will of course be cheaper. We will be competing,' he added.

'If we are able to produce our own raw material, then the cost of the medicine will naturally go down,' he said.

Currently, a 10-tablet strip of the drug costs Rs.280 in the open market.