New Delhi, Feb 07, 2025, IANS

New Delhi, Feb 6 (IANS) The government on Thursday said that as part of the ambitious ‘Genome India’ project, approximately 36.7 per cent of the samples were collected from rural, 32.2 per cent from urban, and 31.1 per cent from the tribal populations. Answering a question in the Rajya Sabha, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science and Technology, Dr Jitendra Singh, affirmed that in the project, equitable representation from rural, urban and tribal populations was ensured. The ‘Genome India’ project, under the Department of Biotechnology, ensures equitable representation in sample collection. The minister also highlighted that in order to achieve this goal, the researchers involved in the Genome India project faced some challenges, like reaching tribal remote regions to collect samples and gather data from these populations, overcoming socio-economic and cultural barriers and convincing such populations for their participation in the project. "Rural and tribal populations do not have sufficient awareness of the benefits of genetic research, which led to misunderstandings about its purpose and value. Educating and convincing such populations was hard," according to the minister. Rural and tribal populations were not easily accessible and on the contrary, urban populations were often more accessible and had greater awareness. Hence, the removal of bias by ensuring the participation of appropriate proportions of all types of populations was important. "Insufficient accessibility to state-of-art healthcare infrastructure, laboratories, and skilled professionals in isolated regions made it challenging to collect samples and conduct blood parameter assessments," said the ministry. Dr Singh further informed that the 'Genome India' team followed pre-planned strategies to overcome various challenges. "Nearby logistics hubs were established for sample transportation, and laboratories were approached in advance to prepare resources for handling a higher number of samples," said the minister. Additionally, partnerships with local healthcare institutions were formed to streamline data collection and improve accessibility. Outreach programs and community engagement initiatives were conducted to raise awareness about the importance of genetic studies and assure participants of data confidentiality, dispelling myths and clarifying the goals of the ‘Genome India Project’.