DAILY NEWS ANALYSIS
01 November, 2019
3 Min Read
Syllabus subtopic: Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, robotics, nano-technology, bio-technology and issues relating to intellectual property rights.
News: A parliamentary panel headed by Congress leader Jairam Ramesh began hearing the contentious DNA Technology (Use and Application) Regulation Bil, 2019 with members grilling offcials from the Department of Biotecchnology on scope for violations of privacy in the proposed DNA data bank.
For Prelims: DNA Bill- features, merits and demerits
For Mains: DNA profiling- uses, challenges, and concerns.
About DNA Bill 2019
Key features of the Bill:
Significance of the bill
Challenges:
Prone to misuse: Information from DNA samples can reveal not just how a person looks, or what their eye colour or skin colour is, but also more intrusive information like their allergies, or susceptibility to diseases. As a result, there is a greater risk of information from DNA analysis getting misused.
Safety issues: There’s also the question of whether the DNA labs accredited by the Regulatory Board are allowed to store copies of the samples they analyse. And if so, how the owners of those samples can ensure the data is safe or needs to be removed from their own indices.
Concern over storage: It’s not clear if DNA samples collected to resolve civil disputes will also be stored in the databank (regional or national), although there is no index specific for the same. If they will be stored, then the problem cascades because the Bill also does not provide for information, consent and appeals.
Source: The Hindu
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