Govt weighs ₹8,000 crore corpus, Section 8 company for genome research initiative

A solid India-specific reference genome will help distinguish normal population variations from disease-causing mutations, one of the people said. The research findings will help develop low-cost diagnostics, improve prediction of drug response, and support targeted screening for genetic disorders and various diseases for precision medicine, he added.

The development assumes significance given that India’s vast population, comprising hundreds of diverse groups with high levels of endogamy, remains underrepresented in global genome databases, which are currently dominated by European ancestry.

The plan also involves a scale-up of two existing flagship programmes—GenomeIndia and IndiGen—that have created India’s foundational population genome resources and may be merged with the upcoming initiative, anchored by the not-for-profit company.

Self-sustaining company

As per the proposal, once the Section 8 company achieves a degree of institutional maturity, it will start generating revenue to meet its own operational expenditure, making the programme self-sustaining over time, one of the people said.

A Section 8 company is a special type of non-profit entity licensed by the government mainly to promote charitable activities, including art, science, sports, education and research. While it operates like a traditional company, it’s bound by a strict non-profit objective, and any profit it makes is ploughed back into its operations to further that objective.

“This is a good initiative. However, the real test of this genome sequencing should not become an end in itself,” said Dr Chandrakant Lahariya, a public health expert.

“The programme should prioritize affordable diagnostics, early identification of inherited diseases, improved cancer treatment, rare disease management and clinically useful research relevant to the Indian population,” Lahariya added.

The research findings will help public health decisionmakers implement targeted screening where a mutation is frequent, conduct counselling in high-risk communities, and better predict susceptibility during pandemics.

“Given the pandemic experience, advancements in capacity in this area will help us be better prepared for future emergencies and emerging biological threats,” said global health researcher Dr Anant Bhan.

Status of extant programmes

Launched in 2020, the biotechnology department’s GenomeIndia project completed 10,174 whole genome sequences, created a national genomic variation catalogue, set up a biobank with over 20,000 biospecimens, and identified nearly 180 million genetic variants, minister of state for science and technology Jitendra Singh informed the Rajya Sabha in July.

This initiative spans 20 institutions and seeks to build a comprehensive catalogue of genetic variations capturing the country’s extraordinary diversity, to better understand health and disease.

Similarly, the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research’s IndiGen programme was launched in April 2019 to address the paucity of whole-genome data from diverse Indian populations.

This initiative has completed whole-genome sequencing of 1,029 self-declared healthy individuals from across the country, helping benchmark population-scale sequencing.

International scenario

The US leads global efforts in genome research. In a statement in June, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) of the US said its All of Us Research Program has made available data from more than 747,000 participants, making it the world’s largest integrated genomic and electronic health record database.

The latest data release includes more than 535,000 whole-genome sequences linked to nearly 482,000 electronic health records, the NIH said.

The UK Biobank has garnered genomic and health data of half a million people and has linked hundreds of DNA markers to diseases. Other critical genome initiatives include Singapore’s PRECISE, BioBank Japan and South Korea’s National Project of Bio Big Data.

Priyanka Sharma

Priyanka Sharma is a journalist at Mint, where she covers the Union Ministry of Health and the pharmaceutical industry. Her work focuses on explaining government policies and how they impact healthcare and the medicine market in India. With 12 years of experience in journalism, she has built a reputation for providing clear and honest news on important health topics that affect the entire country.Her educational background includes a journalism degree from the prestigious Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC) and specialized training in public health from the Public Health Foundation of India. Before her current role at Mint, Priyanka worked with India Today, The Pioneer, and ANI. She also served as a lead consultant for the National Health Authority, which gave her firsthand knowledge of how the government manages large-scale health programmes.Priyanka is based in New Delhi and is an avid traveller who loves visiting the mountains. She has a great interest in regional flavours, particularly South Indian food.