Jammu: Focus on tech-driven progress in healthcare sector, says Union minister
Inaugurating the Centre for Advanced Genomics and Precision Medicine at AIIMS in Jammu, Union minister Jitendra Singh says the country is on its way to leading the world in genomic healthcare.
India under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership prioritises technology-driven progress in the healthcare sector, Union minister Jitendra Singh said on Sunday.
He reaffirmed the government’s commitment to completing 10 lakh genome sequencing in the coming years to enable more accurate disease prediction and personalised interventions.
Inaugurating the Centre for Advanced Genomics and Precision Medicine at AIIMS in Jammu, the Union minister of state in the Prime Minister’s office said the country was well on its way to leading the world in genomic healthcare. “Under Modi’s leadership, India has prioritised technology-driven progress in the healthcare sector,” Singh said, citing the government’s efforts in promoting indigenous research and biotechnology.
He highlighted the exponential growth in India’s bio-economy — from USD 10 billion in 2014 to nearly USD 130 billion at present, with a target of USD 300 billion in the near future.
With more than 9,000 biotech start-ups compared to 50 in 2014, India is rapidly emerging as a global leader in medical innovation, he asserted.
“Gene therapy promises individualised management of disease for each patient. Even if two individuals suffer from the same condition — be it cancer, kidney disease or any other ailment — the treatment could be different in each case, guided by the individual’s unique genetic makeup, pre-existing susceptibilities and inherited vulnerabilities,” the doctor-turned-politician said.
Underscoring the transformative potential of gene therapy, the minister emphasised that, with genomic advancements, doctors would no longer rely on a one-size-fits-all approach but tailor treatments to maximise efficacy and specificity for each individual. The new Centre for Advanced Genomics and Precision Medicine is among the frontrunners in India’s medical research landscape.
Set up in collaboration with 4-base Care, it aims to usher in a new era in personalised medicine, leveraging cutting-edge genomic research to provide targeted treatment based on individual genetic profiles.
By integrating genomic data with artificial intelligence-driven diagnostics, it aims to enhance early disease detection, optimise treatment strategies, and reduce the trial-and-error approach in medical prescriptions, experts at the centre said.
