Lok Sabha Question No. 844 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-02-05
Subject: COVID-19 Bio-repositories
Ministry: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Asked by: T.R.V.S. Ramesh

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY DEPARTMENT OF BIOTECHNOLOGY

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 844 TO BE ANSWERED ON 05.02.2021

## COVID-19 BIO-REPOSITORIES

## 844. SHRI T.R.V.S RAMESH:

Will the Minister of SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY be pleased to state:

- a) whether the Government has set up COVID-19 Bio-repositories across the country;
- b) if so, the details thereof;
- c) the number of samples that have been archived so far; and
- d) the manner in which this will benefit biomedical researchers?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF HEALTH & FAMILY WELFARE; MINISTER OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY; AND MINISTER OF EARTH SCIENCES

## (DR. HARSH VARDHAN)

- (a) & (b) Yes Sir, A total of 17 COVID-19 Bio-repositories have been notified by Government of India  on  23-05-2020.  These  are  set  up  at  laboratories  of  Department  of  Biotechnology  (DBT), Council  of  Scientific  &  Industrial  Research  (CSIR)  and  Indian  Council  of  Medical  Research (ICMR). The list of Bio-repositories may please be seen at Annexure A.
- (c) A  total of 90, 361 samples (Serum, Nasopharyngeal  swab,  Plasma, Peripheral  Blood Mononuclear Cells etc.) have been archived so far across the 17 National COVID19 bio-repositories. 11,650 samples have been archived in ICMR COVID-19 bio-repositories, 41,239 samples have been archived  in  DBT  COVID-19  bio-repositories  and  37,472  samples  have  been  archived  in  CSIR COVID-19 bio-repositories.
- (d) These samples are being used to develop validated diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines etc. for COVID19 prevention, control and treatment. Additionally the samples are a valuable resource for research  and  development related  activities  to  understand  the  early  predictors  of  disease  severity, immunopathogenesis of the disease etc.

****

## List of COVID-19 Bio-repositories notified by Government of India:

## COVID-19 Bio-repositories at DBT institutes:

1. DBT-NCR  Biotech  Cluster-  Translational  Health  Science  and  Technology  Institute  &  Regional Centre for Biotechnology, Faridabad
2. DBT- Institute of Life Sciences, Bhubaneswar
3. DBT - Institute for Stem Cell Science and Regenerative Medicine, Bangalore
4. DBT funded Biorepository - Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences, New Delhi
5. DBT- National Centre for Cell Science, Pune

## COVID-19 Bio-repositories at ICMR institutes:

6. ICMR- National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune
7. ICMR-NIV Field Unit, Bangalore
8. ICMR-NIV Field Unit, Allapuzha, Kerala
9. ICMR- National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases, Kolkata
10. ICMR- National Institute of Occupational Health, Ahmedabad
11. ICMR- National Institute for Implementation Research on Non-Communicable Diseases, Jodhpur
12. ICMR- National Institute of Malaria Research, Delhi
13. ICMR- National Institute of Epidemiology, Chennai
14. ICMR- National Institute for Research in Reproductive Health, Mumbai

## COVID-19 Bio-repositories at CSIR institutes:

15. CSIR - Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology, N. Delhi
16. CSIR - Centre for Cellular & Molecular Biology, Hyderabad
17. CSIR - Institute of Microbial Technology, Chandigarh