(THE GIST OF PIB) ‘Phenome India’ Project

(JUNE-2024)

Recently, CSIR concluded the first phase of its longitudinal health monitoring project, Phenome India, and organised a special event, Phenome India Unboxing 1.0.

Phenome India-CSIR Health Cohort Knowledgebase (PI-CheCK) is an initiative by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), launched on 7th December 2023.
Objective: The project aims to develop India-specific risk prediction models for cardio-metabolic diseases including diabetes, liver diseases, and cardiac diseases.
This is the first-ever pan-India longitudinal health monitoring study focused on cardio-metabolic diseases.
Participants: Nearly 10,000 participants including CSIR employees, pensioners, and their spouses from across 17 states and 24 cities have contributed to the study.
The collected data includes clinical questionnaires, lifestyle and dietary habits, anthropometric measurements, imaging/scanning data, and extensive biochemical and molecular data.
Importance: The study is crucial for understanding the risk and incidence of cardio-metabolic disorders in the Indian population which may differ from those in Western populations due to ethnic diversity and varied lifestyle patterns.
Precision medicine initiative: Through this project, CSIR is promoting Predictive, Personalised, Participatory, and Preventive (P4) healthcare, tailored specifically to the Indian phenotypic and genetic profiles.

Established: In September 1942.
Headquarters: Located in New Delhi.
Funding: CSIR is funded by the Ministry of Science and Technology.
Autonomous body: It operates as an autonomous body under the Societies Registration Act, of 1860.

CSIR is primarily focused on scientific research and development in various fields such as aerospace, biology, chemistry, earth sciences, engineering, and medical sciences.
Organisational structure:
President: The Prime Minister of India (Ex-officio)
Vice President: The Union Minister of Science and Technology (Ex-officio)