Mumbai, May 1 (IANS): In a major step in the ongoing Covid-19 second wave, the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) will carry out genome sequencing of samples from Maharashtra on a regular basis, an official said on Friday.

The Maharashtra government has signed an MoU with the CSIR's Institute of Genomics & Integrative Biology (IGIB) for the project estimated to cost around Rs 1.62 crore.

According to the agreement, the ICIB will collect around 100 samples from 25 districts in the state witnessing Covid positivity every month and send them for genome sequencing as part of a 3-month long research initiative, said Additional Chief Secretary, Health, Dr. Pradeep Vyas.

These samples collected from various districts would be dispatch to the National Centre for Cell Sciences, Pune and the CSIR-IGIB in Faridabad for genome sequencing, under the coordination of the state's Directorate of Medical Education & Research, said Vyas.

The comprehensive research and analysis would sequence the genome and list the number of variants, map behavioural patterns of the possible strains based on the health issues, problems and complications, the effects of drugs and treatment, etc encountered by the Covid patients during the course of the treatment, an official said.