UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Steps taken for advancing personalized medicine

Q1. Which one of the following institutions spearheads/coordinates the 20-institution consortium of the GenomeIndia Project?

  • A. Centre for Brain Research (CBR), IISc Bengaluru
  • B. CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology, New Delhi
  • C. Regional Centre for Biotechnology, Faridabad
  • D. National Institute of Biomedical Genomics, Kalyani

Q2. The Indian Biological Data Centre (IBDC), India's first national repository for life-science data, has been established at which one of the following institutions?

  • A. Regional Centre for Biotechnology (RCB), Faridabad
  • B. National Informatics Centre (NIC), Bhubaneswar
  • C. CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology, New Delhi
  • D. Centre for Brain Research, IISc Bengaluru

Q3. The Indian Biological Data Centre (IBDC), where the GenomeIndia genomic data is hosted, functions under the authority of which one of the following?

  • A. Department of Biotechnology (DBT)
  • B. Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)
  • C. Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)
  • D. Department of Science and Technology (DST)

Q4. The Phenome India National Biobank, launched as part of India's precision-medicine push, is operated by which one of the following organisations?

  • A. CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB), New Delhi
  • B. Regional Centre for Biotechnology, Faridabad
  • C. National Institute of Nutrition, Hyderabad
  • D. All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi

Q5. In which year was the BioE3 (Biotechnology for Economy, Environment and Employment) Policy approved by the Union Cabinet?

  • A. 2024
  • B. 2020
  • C. 2022
  • D. 2025

Q6. The UMMID initiative and the NIDAN Kendras for management of inherited genetic disorders are operationalised by which one of the following?

  • A. Department of Biotechnology (DBT)
  • B. Department of Health Research through the ICMR
  • C. National Health Mission under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
  • D. Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR)

Q7. In the context of India's precision-medicine efforts, the Indian Tuberculosis Genomic Surveillance (InTGS) Consortium is best described as:

  • A. An initiative using whole-genome sequencing and AI to catalogue drug-resistance mutations in Mycobacterium tuberculosis
  • B. A programme to deliver universal BCG re-vaccination to adults in high-burden districts
  • C. A network of NIDAN Kendras screening newborns for congenital tuberculosis
  • D. A biobank storing blood samples of TB patients for stem-cell-based therapy

Q8. Which one of the following best describes 'personalized (precision) medicine' as understood in India's biotechnology policy?

  • A. Tailoring prevention, diagnosis and therapy to an individual's genomic, phenotypic and lifestyle profile
  • B. Administering a single standardized treatment protocol uniformly to all patients diagnosed with a given disease
  • C. Mass-producing low-cost generic medicines for wide public distribution
  • D. Using autonomous robotic systems to perform routine surgical procedures