BIRSA 101: India’s first CRISPR gene therapy for sickle cell disease

The Union Science and Technology Minister, Dr. Jitendra Singh, on 19 November 2025 launched the country’s first indigenous CRISPR-based gene therapy ‘BIRSA 101’ for sickle cell disease.

• The Union Science and Technology Minister, Dr. Jitendra Singh, on 19 November 2025 launched the country’s first indigenous CRISPR-based gene therapy for sickle cell disease, which mainly affects the tribal population of the country.
• This therapy named BIRSA 101 is dedicated to Bhagwan Birsa Munda, whose 150th birth anniversary was celebrated on the 15th of this month.

Inventor company of BIRSA 101

• Developed at CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB), this breakthrough therapy has shown India’s capacity to create new therapies at a fraction of the cost worldwide.
• IGIB has signed a formal technology transfer and collaboration agreement with the Serum Institute of India, Pune, to transform the engineered enFnCas9 CRISPR platform into an affordable therapy for sickle cell disease and other severe genetic diseases.
• Dr. Singh emphasized that this success has shown the country’s capacity to create new therapies at a fraction of the cost worldwide, which may replace treatments abroad that cost 20–25 crore rupees.
• Sickle cell disease is a chronic, single-gene disease that causes a debilitating systemic syndrome, including chronic anaemia, acute pain, organ infarction, and chronic organ damage, significantly reducing life expectancy.
• This genetic blood disorder affects the patient’s entire life, as it leads to several severe health complications. The country has taken a major step towards achieving Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of a sickle-cell-free India by 2047.

The Indian Army obtained IPR for the new combat coat design

• The Indian Army has obtained intellectual property rights for the newly designed combat coat. According to the Ministry of Defence, under a consultancy project of the Army Design Bureau, the three-layer coat designed by the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), New Delhi, uses advanced technical textile.
• Its ergonomic structure enhances comfort, mobility, and operational efficiency in different weather and tactical conditions.
• The Ministry of Defence said that advanced technical textile has been used in the three-layer garment and it has an ergonomic design that has been created to improve comfort, mobility, and operational efficiency in different weather and tactical conditions.
• The ministry said the new garment designed and developed by the National Institute of Fashion Technology is a big leap in combining combat functionality with comfort and protection.
• The new coat combat includes a durable digitally printed outer coat, an insulated inner jacket, and a thermal base layer for moisture and temperature regulation. Together, these show a major upgrade in combat functionality, protection, and wearer comfort, it added.