Context: Recently, the Ministry of Science & Technology announced the successful completion of PAN-India 1000 Genome sequencing of SARS- CoV-2. 
Key Points

• The Department of Biotechnology had launched a Pan India 1000 SARS--CoV-2 RNA Genome Sequencing programme to be done by Autonomous Institutes of DBT, collaborating with national laboratories and clinical organizations.
• The Ministry also launched and dedicated to the nation the largest network of five dedicated COVID-19 Biorepositories established by the Department of Biotechnology. 
• The main purpose of these biorepositories are archival of inactivated virus and clinical samples.

Significance of Genome sequencing of SARS- CoV-2

• Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data (GISAID): Given the importance of information for investigation into the transmission of COVID-19, the sequence data will soon be released in GISAID for use by researchers across the Globe.  
• Improve the understanding: The information in the database will improve the understanding on how the virus is spreading, ultimately helping to interrupt the transmission chains, prevent new cases of infection, and provide impetus to research on intervention measures.
• The data analysis may bring out some interesting conclusions to help in our fight against COVID-19.

About Genome Sequencing

• Genome sequencing is figuring out the order of DNA nucleotides or bases (Adenine, Cytosine, Guanines, and Thymine), in a genome. 
• The human genome is made up of 23 chromosome pairs with a total of about 3 billion DNA base pairs.
• There are 24 distinct human chromosomes: 22 autosomal chromosomes, plus the sex-determining X and Y chromosomes.
• The estimate of the number of human genes has been repeatedly revised down from initial predictions of 100,000 or more as genome sequence quality and gene finding methods have improved, and could continue to drop further.

Importance of Genome Sequencing

• An important step towards understanding genes: The genome sequence will help scientists find genes much more easily and quickly. 
• To understand how genes work: Scientists also hope that being able to study the entire genome sequence will help them understand how the genome as a whole works to direct the growth, development and maintenance of an entire organism.
• Knowledge of what lies outside the genes: Finally, genes account for less than 25 percent of the DNA in the genome, and so knowing the entire genome sequence will help scientists study the parts of the genome outside the genes. 

Projects 
Human Genome Project

• It was an international research effort to determine the sequence of the human genome and identify the genes that it contains. 
• The Project was coordinated by the National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Department of Energy.

Genome India Project (GIP)

• Recently, the Ministry of Science and Technology has approved an ambitious gene-mapping project called the Genome India Project (GIP). 
• A collaboration of 20 institutions including the Indian Institute of Science and some IITs, the project will enable new efficiencies in medicine, agriculture and the life sciences.
• It aims to ultimately build a grid of the Indian “reference genome”, to fully understand the type and nature of diseases and traits that comprise the diverse Indian population.
• The mega project hopes to form a grid after collecting 10,000 samples in the first phase from across India, to arrive at a representative Indian genome.