Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Anupriya Patel participated in a high-level session titled “Innovation to Impact: AI as a Public Health Game-Changer” at the India AI Impact Summit 2026, held at Bharat Mandapam. The session examined how Artificial Intelligence (AI) can transform public health outcomes and strengthen India’s healthcare delivery systems.
Addressing policymakers, clinicians, researchers, and industry leaders, the Minister delivered the keynote address and outlined India’s inclusive vision for AI in healthcare.
“AI for India” Means All-Inclusive Intelligence
Smt. Anupriya Patel emphasized that AI, as envisioned by Narendra Modi, represents not just Artificial Intelligence but “All-Inclusive Intelligence.” She clarified that India measures AI’s success not by technological sophistication alone, but by its ability to reduce health inequities and improve lives across diverse populations.
As India moves toward the vision of Viksit Bharat by 2047, she described health as a central pillar of national development. Given India’s vast population, rural–urban divide, and dual burden of communicable and non-communicable diseases, she asserted that AI serves as a critical enabler of scalable and equitable healthcare solutions.
AI Across the Healthcare Continuum
The Minister highlighted how the government has integrated AI across the entire healthcare continuum—from prevention and surveillance to diagnosis and treatment.
She pointed to the Media Disease Surveillance System, an AI-enabled platform that monitors disease trends in 13 languages and generates real-time alerts. This system strengthens outbreak preparedness and enhances disease surveillance capacity nationwide.
Furthermore, under the One Health Mission, Indian Council of Medical Research has introduced AI-based genomic surveillance tools. These tools predict potential zoonotic outbreaks even before transmission from animals to humans occurs. Such predictive capabilities, she noted, mark a paradigm shift in preventive public health.
AI Strengthening India’s TB Elimination Efforts
Smt. Patel also emphasized AI’s contribution to tuberculosis (TB) control. The government has deployed AI-enabled handheld X-ray machines and Computer-Aided Detection tools (CA-TB) to expand access to advanced diagnostics.
These innovations have resulted in approximately 16 percent additional TB case detection. Moreover, AI-based tools that predict adverse TB treatment outcomes have contributed to a 27 percent decline in negative treatment results. Collectively, these advancements have strengthened India’s TB elimination efforts.
Building a Scalable and Frugal AI Ecosystem
Recognizing India’s resource constraints, the Minister stressed that solutions must remain scalable, affordable, and capable of addressing systemic gaps. To build a robust AI ecosystem in healthcare, the government has established three Centres of Excellence for AI at All India Institute of Medical Sciences Delhi, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research Chandigarh, and All India Institute of Medical Sciences Rishikesh.
As reported by pib.gov.in, these centres aim to integrate world-class AI expertise into public healthcare delivery and accelerate innovation at scale.
AI to Augment, Not Replace, Clinicians
Importantly, Smt. Patel clarified that AI will augment—not replace—clinicians. By automating routine and high-intensity tasks, AI allows doctors to focus on complex cases and critical decision-making.
She emphasized that medicine combines science and art. While algorithms support diagnosis and analysis, empathy, compassion, and human judgment remain irreplaceable. Therefore, clinicians will always remain central to patient care.
To prepare the workforce for a digital future, she noted that the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences has launched an online AI training programme. This initiative aims to equip doctors with essential digital competencies and ensure AI literacy across the healthcare system.
AI as a Strategic Enabler for Universal Health Coverage
Echoing these views, Prof. V. K. Paul, Member (Health) at NITI Aayog, described AI as a strategic opportunity to accelerate progress toward universal health coverage.
He argued that India’s scale and diversity demand technology-driven, evidence-based interventions. By integrating AI with India’s expanding digital public health infrastructure, the country can achieve interoperability, real-time analytics, and efficient resource allocation.
However, he also stressed the importance of robust regulatory frameworks, ethical safeguards, and continuous validation to ensure safety and maintain public trust. He called for sustained collaboration between government, academia, and industry to develop indigenous AI solutions capable of delivering measurable impact.
Global Perspective: AI Requires Trust and Integration
Offering an industry perspective, Shri Roy Jakobs, CEO of Royal Philips, stated that AI will have its most profound impact in healthcare. He observed that rising demand, workforce shortages, and increasing complexity of care have placed global health systems under immense pressure, making AI integration a necessity.
Nevertheless, he emphasized that AI alone cannot transform healthcare. It must align with clinical workflows and rely on strong data governance, interoperability, and clearly defined use cases. He underscored that healthcare runs on trust; therefore, AI systems must remain transparent, explainable, and continuously validated.
Commending India’s digital health initiatives such as Ayushman Bharat Yojana, he noted that interoperable digital infrastructure provides the foundation necessary for AI to deliver meaningful and sustainable impact. He further observed that solutions developed in India increasingly find global application, demonstrating their resilience and adaptability.
Moving from Pilots to System-Level Integration
Overall, the session underscored that AI can transform public health only when deployed responsibly and at scale. Speakers agreed that AI must move beyond isolated pilot projects and integrate into health systems as core infrastructure.
They highlighted that interoperable digital platforms, high-quality data, ethical oversight, and public-private collaboration will determine AI’s long-term success. While AI can enhance surveillance, diagnostics, clinical decision-making, and operational efficiency, it ultimately serves as a tool to empower—not replace—healthcare professionals.
The session concluded with a shared commitment to harness AI as an inclusive, scalable, and patient-centric solution capable of addressing India’s complex healthcare challenges while strengthening global health resilience.