Dr Singh highlighted the government’s ambitious efforts to eliminate tuberculosis five years before the WHO’s global goal
Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh announced the completion of genome sequencing of 10,000 isolates of Mycobacterium tuberculosis at a summit organised on the occasion of World TB Day at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi.
The achievement marks a major stride in India’s commitment to eradicating TB ahead of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) 2030 targets.
Addressing a gathering of leading medical academicians, health scientists, researchers, and senior officials, Dr Singh highlighted the government’s ambitious efforts to eliminate tuberculosis five years before the WHO’s global goal. He underscored the importance of collaborative research and the need for a whole-of-science, whole-of-government, and whole-of-mission approach to achieve this target.
The genome sequencing initiative is part of the Dare2eraD TB programme (Data Driven Research to Eradicate TB), launched on March 24, 2022, which focuses on data-driven research to eradicate TB. A key component of this initiative is the Indian Tuberculosis Genomic Surveillance (InTGS) Consortium, spearheaded by the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), in collaboration with major clinical institutions. The programme aims to sequence over 32,000 TB isolates to identify drug-resistance mutations and improve treatment outcomes.
Dr Singh emphasised that the deep genomic dataset being developed has the potential to revolutionise TB diagnostics and drug resistance prediction. He noted that genome sequencing can significantly improve diagnostic accuracy and enable faster resistance profiling, reducing the time needed to determine effective treatments from weeks to mere hours or days. This, he said, will help in tailoring treatment regimens to individual patient needs and reduce the risk of treatment failure or relapse.
Dr Rajesh Gokhale, Secretary DBT, hailed the completion of 10,000 genome sequences as a milestone achievement, adding that the data will be instrumental in strengthening India’s TB surveillance and diagnostic capabilities. He stressed the importance of translating this research into practical applications that can be scaled up for real-world impact.
The event also saw the participation of senior officials including Dr N Kalaiselvi, Director General CSIR; Dr Rajiv Bahl, Director General ICMR; and Dr M Srinivas, Director AIIMS, among others.
Dr Jitendra Singh appreciated the proactive and visionary initiatives to support transformative innovations for a more robust pipeline of tools that can overcome the translational challenges and better prepare India to address TB than ever before.
