Union Minister of State for Science and Technology, Dr. Jitendra Singh, today inaugurated the state-of-the-art Phenome India ‘National Biobank’ at the CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology in New Delhi.

The Ministry of Science and Technology, in a statement, said that the Biobank will serve as the backbone of a nationwide cohort study, collecting comprehensive genomic, lifestyle, and clinical data from 10 thousand individuals across the country.

It added that the Biobank  captures the country’s unique diversity-across geography, ethnicity, and socio-economic backgrounds. The statement further mentioned that the researchers believe that the initiative will aid early diagnosis, improve therapeutic targeting, and bolster the fight against complex diseases such as diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular ailments, and rare genetic disorders.

Addressing the event, Dr. Singh said that India’s scientific landscape is evolving rapidly and cited recent advances in quantum technology, CRISPR-based genome editing, and the fight against antimicrobial resistance. Dr. Singh also called for deeper collaboration between research institutions, government departments like the Department of Biotechnology, and industry partners.