India has offered DNA profiling support to families searching for relatives who went missing in the devastating floods and ice-rock avalanches that struck Nepal, opening its government forensic infrastructure to assist the neighbouring country with victim identification.

Under the initiative, immediate biological relatives of missing people living in India can provide DNA samples at designated government forensic facilities. The profiles will be compared with DNA recovered from unidentified remains in Nepal to help establish the identities of victims.

The initiative has been coordinated by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs with the Ministry of External Affairs following the disasters, which have killed more than 1,200 people and left thousands unaccounted for, according to the information provided by Indian authorities.

Families can provide DNA samples

Parents, children and siblings of people reported missing in Nepal can provide biological samples for DNA profiling under the new arrangement.

The process is intended to give investigators reference DNA profiles from close family members. These profiles can then be compared with samples collected from unidentified bodies recovered from disaster-hit locations.

For families facing uncertainty over the whereabouts of their relatives, the process could provide crucial confirmation when conventional identification methods are not possible.

Authorities are expected to use established forensic procedures to ensure the samples and resulting profiles can be securely handled and compared.

Government labs across India

The DNA collection initiative will use India's existing public forensic network.

Designated Central Forensic Science Laboratories (CFSLs), State Forensic Science Laboratories (SFSLs), laboratories operated by the National Forensic Sciences University (NFSU) and its regional campuses, and other NABL-accredited public forensic institutions are among the facilities involved.

These laboratories will generate DNA profiles from eligible relatives using established forensic protocols.

The resulting profiles will then be shared with the relevant authorities and disaster victim identification teams working in Nepal.

Autosomal STR profiling used

The initiative will rely on Autosomal Short Tandem Repeat (STR) DNA profiling.

STR analysis examines specific regions of a person's DNA and is widely used in forensic identification, including cases involving missing people and disaster victims.

Because first-degree relatives share substantial genetic material, their DNA can provide useful reference profiles when the missing person's own DNA is unavailable.

The profiles obtained from relatives can be compared with DNA extracted from unidentified remains, helping forensic teams determine potential biological relationships.

India sends DVI experts

India has also deployed a 19-member Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) team to Nepal to support the identification effort.

The team includes forensic scientists and DNA specialists from the National Forensic Sciences University and CFSL Delhi. They are working alongside personnel from Nepal Police's Central Forensic Science Laboratory in Kathmandu.

The Indian experts are expected to assist with forensic evidence collection, DNA analysis and the comparison of profiles from missing persons with unidentified remains.

The deployment adds on-ground technical support to India's wider assistance following the disaster.

Visual identification can fail

Large-scale natural disasters can make conventional victim identification extremely difficult.

Floodwaters, landslides and prolonged exposure can cause severe damage to human remains. In many cases, photographs, fingerprints or visual recognition may not be sufficient to establish a person's identity.

DNA profiling can provide a more reliable scientific method when remains are badly damaged or decomposed.

Forensic investigators can recover DNA from suitable biological material and compare it with reference samples from relatives. A sufficiently strong genetic match can help establish identity with a high degree of confidence.

Nepal faces huge identification task

The scale of the disaster has placed considerable pressure on Nepal's authorities to locate missing people and identify recovered remains.

Families have been registering information with police and providing biological samples as authorities work through the victim-identification process.

The availability of reference DNA profiles from relatives in India could expand the pool of samples available to Nepalese investigators and help resolve cases involving people whose families are unable to travel to Nepal.

It also demonstrates the importance of cross-border forensic cooperation during major disasters.

Faster answers for families

For relatives waiting for news, DNA identification can provide an answer that goes beyond search operations and preliminary reports.

A confirmed identification allows authorities to formally record a victim's death and enables families to begin necessary legal, administrative and funeral procedures.

India's decision to make its forensic network available to affected families is therefore aimed at accelerating one of the most difficult stages of disaster response.

As forensic teams continue working in Nepal, the combination of DNA samples collected in India and evidence gathered from unidentified remains could help authorities identify more victims and provide families with long-awaited clarity about their missing loved ones.