(GIST OF SCIENCE REPORTER) GENOME INDIA PROJECT

(FEBRUARY-2025)

GENOME INDIA PROJECT

The Department of Biotechnology recently announced its new platform and framework for sharing its 10,000 human genome dataset.

Key Details

The sequences of healthy individuals from 99 ethnic populations of the country has helped create a baseline map of India’s genetic diversity.
The researchers in the second phase plan to sequence genomes of those with specific diseases.

About Genome India Project

The Genome India project was first approved in 2020 with the aim of capturing this diversity at the genomic level.
Researchers from 20 different scientific institutions have come together to sequence the first 10,000 genomes under the project.
The department of biotechnology aims to expand the programme further and sequence up to 1 million genomes.

How will data be shared

The data will be available to Indian researchers through managed access. This is the first time that we have created a resource such as this and we have to be very careful how we share this highly sensitive data.
Access will be granted only to research institutions that partner with us for the study.

Advantage of Genome India Project

Inform Policy Decisions: Genetic data will help policymakers design and implement health strategies suited to India’s diverse population.
Identify factors for diseases: The project will help identify genetic basis or genetic risk factors for various diseases. These can then be used as targets for developing therapies and diagnostic tests.
Find new variants: An Indian dataset helps identify new variants. The researchers have identified 135 million genetic variations in the 10,000 genomes so far, 7 million of which are not found in the global databases.

Identify frequency of Genetic Variations: Population level sequencing can also tell scientists and clinicians the frequency at which certain genetic variations that are known to cause disease appear and hence how common a disease might be.