Genome India Project:
Government aims to sequence 10,000 genomes by the end of the year 2023 under the Genome India Project (GIP).
- The Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology has sequenced close to 7,000 genomes and 3,000 of these are already available for public access
- Genome India Project is a scientific initiative inspired by the Human Genome Project (HGP), an international effort that successfully decoded the entire human genome between 1990 and 2003.
- The project was started in 2020, aiming to better understand the genetic variations and disease-causing mutations specific to the Indian population, which is one of the most genetically diverse in the world.
- By sequencing and analyzing these genomes, researchers hope to gain insights into the underlying genetic causes of diseases and develop more effective personalized therapies.
- The project involves the collaboration of 20 institutions across India and is being led by the Centre for Brain Research at the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore.
- GIP aims to develop personalized medicine based on patients’ genomes to anticipate and modulate diseases.
- By mapping disease propensities to genetic variations, interventions can be targeted more effectively, and diseases can be anticipated before they develop.
- Similar benefits will come to agriculture if there is a better understanding of the genetic basis of the susceptibility of plants to pests, insects and other issues hampering productivity.
- This can reduce dependence on chemicals.
- Global science will also benefit from a mapping project in one of the world’s most diverse gene pools.
- The project is said to be among the most significant of its kind in the world because of its scale and the diversity it would bring to genetic studies.
