Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a hepatotropic virus of family Flaviviridae and genus Hepacivirus with a single strand positive RNA genome. It is a leading cause of chronic liver disease worldwide. In India, there are about 12-13 million HCV carriers and it has been predicted that the burden of disease could soon increase substantially. Although most chronic HCV patients have mild chronic hepatitis, it is a progressive disease and can lead to cirrhosis or hepatocellular carcinoma. Till date, six different HCV genotypes and large number of subtypes have been identified based on the nucleic acid sequences. Subtypes 1a and 1b are found worldwide and contribute to almost 60% of all cases. It has been suggested that different genotypes have different clinical outcomes with regard to disease severity and response to interferon therapy.