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Source: Getty

In The Media
Carnegie India

For the First Time, India Has a Genome Database. But Are We Ready to Use It?

The IndiGen Genome Project, launched in April 2019, is a government-funded exercise that sequenced more than a thousand individuals from diverse ethnicities to create a genome database for India.

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By Shruti Sharma
Published on Nov 22, 2019
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Technology and Society

This program focuses on five sets of imperatives: data, strategic technologies, emerging technologies, digital public infrastructure, and strategic partnerships.

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Source: Print

For the first time ever, we have a gene database just for Indians.

The IndiGen Genome Project, launched in April this year, is a government-funded exercise that sequenced more than a thousand individuals from diverse ethnicities to create a genome database for India.

Since most of the globally available genetic tests have been developed using data of Caucasian populations, this indigenous genetic mapping exercise might improve our ability to diagnose, prevent, and treat diseases specific to the Indian population.

But is India, which will see the Personal Data Protection Bill being tabled in Parliament this winter session, ready?

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This article was originally published in ThePrint.

About the Author

Shruti Sharma

Former Associate Director, Fellow, and Chief Coordinator, Global Technology Summit, Technology and Society Program

Shruti Sharma was an associate director and a fellow with the Technology and Society Program at Carnegie India, where she is currently working on exploring the challenges and opportunities in leveraging biotechnology to improve public health capacity in India. Additionally, she is the Chief Coordinator of Carnegie India's Global Technology Summit.

    Recent Work

  • Article
    The India-United Kingdom Technology and Security Initiative: Ideas for Change
      • +1

      Rudra Chaudhuri, Tejas Bharadwaj, Konark Bhandari, …

  • Commentary
    The India-U.S. TRUST Initiative: A Resilient Pharma Supply Chain

      Shruti Sharma

Shruti Sharma
Former Associate Director, Fellow, and Chief Coordinator, Global Technology Summit, Technology and Society Program
Shruti Sharma
TechnologySouth AsiaIndia

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

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