Context: Recently, India has shared nine whole genome sequences of the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) with the Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data (GISAID) — a public platform started by the WHO in 2008 for countries to share genome sequences.
Background

• Early in March, India became the fifth country in the world to sequence the genome of the novel Coronavirus, or Covid-19, and share its data with the international community.
• All the sequences have been shared by the Pune-based National Institute of Virology.
• So far, 3,086 sequences of the virus isolated from humans have been shared by 57 countries. With 621, the U.S. has shared the most number of sequences, followed by the U.K. (350), Belgium (253) and China (242).

About genome sequencing

• Genome: It is an organism’s complete set of DNA, including all of its genes.
• Each genome contains all of the information needed to build and maintain that organism. In humans, a copy of the entire genome—more than 3 billion DNA base pairs—is contained in all cells that have a nucleus.
• Genome sequencing: It is figuring out the order of DNA nucleotides, or bases, in a genome—the order of Adenine, Cytosine, Guanines, and Thymine that make up an organism's DNA.
• Sequencing the genome doesn't immediately lay open the genetic information of an entire species. Even with a rough draft of the human genome sequence in hand, much work remains to be done. Scientists still have to translate those strings of letters into an understanding of how the genome works.

Importantance of genomic sequencing to understand  to COVID-19

• The SARS-CoV2 genome, as it is formally known, has about 30,000 base pairs, somewhat like a long string with 30,000 places where each one of these occupy one of four chemicals called nucleotides.
• A look at virus genome sequences from patient samples that test positive for COVID-19 helps researchers to understand how the virus is evolving as it spreads. So far, there are over 1,000 COVID-19 genomes that have been published worldwide.

Therefore, sequencing is necessary because:

• It helps track the transmission route of the virus globally.
• It can determine how quickly the virus is adapting as it spreads.
• It identifies targets to therapies.
• It is required to understand the role of co-infection.

About Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data (GISAID)

• GISAID is a public–private partnership between the German government and the non-profit organization Friends of GISAID.
• Formed in: 2008. 
• Type: Non-profit organization.
• Headquarters: Munich, Germany
• Functions: It provides public access to the most complete collection of genetic sequence data of influenza viruses and related clinical and epidemiological data through its database (named EpiFlu). The database is hosted by the German government.
• The GISAID Initiative promotes the international sharing of all influenza virus sequences, related clinical and epidemiological data associated with human viruses, and geographical as well as species-specific data associated with avian and other animal viruses
• This helps researchers understand how the viruses evolve, spread and potentially become pandemics.
• It actively promotes the development of novel research tools for the analysis of influenza data by helping developers to facilitate the integration or connection of their tools to analyze GISAID data.