India’s health care landscape is at an inflection point, a moment shaped by the interplay of rising non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and breakthrough innovations in genomics and artificial intelligence.
Also, with cancer and rare diseases emerging as major public health challenges, India’s response must evolve beyond reactive care to predictive, preventive, and personalised medicine. This transformation rests on one critical force - genomics.
The NCD challenge and the promise of precision care
India faces one of the most complex health burdens globally, with NCDs accounting for nearly two-thirds of all deaths. Among these, cancer alone affects 1.46 million Indians each year, claiming over 800,000 lives annually — a stark reminder of the need for early screening and precision diagnostics.
Similarly, rare diseases affect nearly 70 million Indians, yet many remain undiagnosed or misdiagnosed due to limited access to genomic screening.
Traditional diagnostic methods, which often detect disease only at advanced stages, are no longer sustainable. On the contrary, genomic-based precision medicine enables clinicians to tailor prevention and treatment strategies based on a patient’s genetic profile rather than population averages. The ability to identify disease susceptibilities early and before symptoms appear is what is reshaping how India envisions healthcare delivery.
Fueling transformation through advanced technologies
The backbone of this transformation is next-generation sequencing (NGS), a field where India is emerging as a global genomics growth hub. The growth in the Indian genomics market is driven by falling sequencing costs and precision health adoption. In India, the rapid adoption of NGS is revolutionising cancer care, rare disease diagnosis, and screening for drug-resistant pathogens.
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Complementing this is the emergence of multiomics, that is, the integration of genomics with proteomics, metabolomics, and transcriptomics. Altogether, they offer a holistic understanding of disease mechanisms, and when combined with AI-powered analytics, multiomics platforms enable clinicians to interpret complex biological data in real time, improving diagnostic precision and therapeutic choices.
The rise of India’s multiomics revolution
India’s rich genetic diversity positions it uniquely for the next stage of multiomic integration. Genome sequencing at the population scale allows insights into region-specific disease predispositions and drug responses, advancing both clinical practice and research.
The landmark Genome India Project, completed in January 2025, has sequenced 10,000 genomes from 99 ethnic groups, establishing the nation’s largest genetic reference dataset. The data models emerging from Indian cohorts support data-driven, personalised healthcare, making treatment accessible and equitable across socio-economic layers.
AI-enabled platforms that are used globally for sequencing analysis, data integration, and interpretation are becoming increasingly crucial in India as well. These scalable systems, integrated across clinical workflows, empower hospitals to automate genetic testing, manage vast data streams, and deliver insights that translate directly to patient care.
Nurturing talent and infrastructure
Technology alone cannot fuel transformation; it must be matched by human capital and institutional capacity. With over 40 per cent of the country’s population under the age of 25, India’s deep bench of young scientific talent is fueling its growing leadership in genetic research, bioinformatics, and precision health innovation.
World-class sequencing capabilities and research partnerships are also expanding regionally, extending beyond major metros into emerging biotech hubs like Hyderabad, Pune, and Ahmedabad. This decentralisation is crucial to ensuring that genomic benefits reach rural and tier-2 healthcare systems that can truly democratise precision care.
AI, multiomics, and the new diagnostic frontier
Integrating genomic data with artificial intelligence has been among the most powerful forces behind modern medicine. AI algorithms are able to process terabytes of genomic data to pinpoint rare mutations linked to inherited disorders, and can even simulate therapeutic responses to guide precision treatment planning.
Public health as a data ecosystem
Beyond personalised care, genomics is changing how nations approach population health. The Genome India Project is a pure example of a science-public health synergy that is offering a foundation for national screening programs and predictive models for disease outbreaks.
With the right data governance and interconnectivity frameworks, India can use genomic datasets to not only strengthen surveillance systems but also manage emerging health threats more proactively.
Towards a future of preventive and personalised Care
India’s genomic evolution is not merely a scientific trend, but it’s a representative of a strategic shift from reactive to preventive healthcare.
At the cross-sections of genomics and medicine, India is not merely participating in a global trend, it is shaping it.
By uniting biology with data science and human ingenuity, the nation is forging a path toward DNA-driven, inclusive, and sustainable healthcare that could redefine well-being for generations to come.
(Suchita Dayanand is the country head – India (commercial), Illumina)
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of THE WEEK.
