Ministry of Tribal Affairs, CSIR and IGIB Organized Workshop on “BIRSA 101” — India’s First Indigenous CRISPR-Based Gene Therapy for Sickle Cell Disease

• BIRSA 101 is India's first indigenous CRISPR-Cas9 based gene therapy for Sickle Cell Disease (SCD), developed by CSIR-Institute of Genomics & Integrative Biology (IGIB), New Delhi.
• Named in honour of Bhagwan Birsa Munda, the tribal freedom fighter; targets a disease disproportionately afflicting India's tribal population in central/eastern India.
• Workshop on "BIRSA 101" was organised by Ministry of Tribal Affairs + CSIR + CSIR-IGIB on 14 May 2026 at CSIR-IGIB, New Delhi, under Janjatiya Garima Utsav 2026.
• Significant for UPSC because it links GS-III (biotechnology, indigenous innovation, health) with GS-II (tribal welfare, SCD Elimination Mission) and GS-I (tribal society).