GenomeIndia: Cataloguing the Genetic Variation in Indians’ project

‘GenomeIndia: Cataloguing the Genetic Variation in Indians’ project has been sanctioned by Department of Biotechnology (DBT) on January16, 2020 for a period of 3 years to 20 institutions from varied disciplines across the country. The whole genome sequencing under GenomeIndia has just started.

The proposed target of Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS) is to do it for total 10,000 individuals representing the country’s diverse population in 3 years. The information generated from whole genome sequencing can facilitate future human genetics research in the country with greater precision, and to design a genome wide association array for the Indian population to develop precision healthcare and diagnostics for major diseases at affordable costs.

The data security and sharing measures for this project will be governed by the rules and regulations formulated by Government of India. The personal information of all individuals consenting to participate in the study is stripped off from any further records in this project. This process of de-identification ensures that the personal information of the participants is not compromised. Additionally, ethical measures are strictly adhered to in order to maintain data security and protection.

This was stated by Dr.Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Science and Technology, Earth Sciences, in a written reply in the Lok Sabha today.