India Advances Personalised Medicine With National Genomics, Biobank & Precision Health Initiatives
The Government of India has outlined a series of initiatives aimed at advancing personalised medicine, precision diagnostics, and targeted therapies across the country.
The Department of Biotechnology-funded GENOMEINDIA project has completed whole genome sequencing of more than 10,000 individuals representing all major population groups in India, creating a comprehensive genetic database that is expected to support health research and sustainable scientific development.
The state-of-the-art Phenome India National Biobank has been launched at the CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology in New Delhi and will collect genomic, lifestyle, and clinical data from 10,000 participants in a nationwide cohort study.
Under the BioE3 Policy, the Department of Biotechnology has identified precision biotherapeutics as a priority area and is facilitating research and manufacturing of indigenous mRNA therapeutics, monoclonal antibodies, and cell and gene therapies to improve health outcomes. The UMMID initiative has started establishing NIDAN Kendras to provide prenatal testing, newborn screening, and genetic counselling for inherited disorders.
A tuberculosis genomic surveillance consortium programme is cataloguing drug resistance mutations in Mycobacterium tuberculosis using genomics and artificial intelligence to enhance detection and disease control strategies.
The Department of Pharmaceuticals is implementing the Scheme for Promotion of Research and Innovation in the Pharma-MedTech sector to support R&D and product development, while the Department of Health Research’s DIAMOnDS scheme delivers free advanced molecular oncology diagnostics to disadvantaged lung and breast cancer patients, facilitating biomarker-based personalised treatments through a network of 25 centres.
Health Technology Assessment in India (HTAIn) is supporting cost-effective integration of advanced technologies into national health programmes.
The Indian Council of Medical Research is promoting high-risk, high-reward research and innovation to translate new diagnostics, drugs, biologics, and medical devices from proof-of-concept to clinical application, complemented by facilities such as mPRAGATI at IIT Delhi for precision design, testing, and validation.
National ethical guidelines for biomedical research, biobanking, genomics, sample analysis, and gene therapy development have also been developed to shape a supportive environment for personalised medicine and advanced biomedical technologies.
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