The Digital India BHASHINI Division (DIBD) under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) participated in the Chintan Shivir – National Review of Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY) and Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) held on 19 January 2026 in Bhubaneswar, Odisha. Organised by the National Health Authority (NHA), the review brought together senior officials from the Union and State Governments, technical institutions, and implementing agencies to assess progress and accelerate the adoption of digital health initiatives nationwide.
Focus on AI-Driven and Inclusive Digital Health
The deliberations aligned with India’s national objective of advancing digital health through AI-led innovation and inclusive language access. In particular, participants emphasised the need to ensure that digital health platforms remain usable, accessible, and effective across India’s diverse linguistic and geographic landscape.
MoU Signed to Enable Multilingual Health Platforms
A key highlight of Day 1 was the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the National Health Authority and the Digital India BHASHINI Division. The partnership aims to enable multilingual translation services and AI-powered language support across NHA’s digital platforms, including AB PM-JAY and ABDM.
As reported by pib.gov.in, the MoU was exchanged during the inaugural session in the presence of senior leadership from the Government of Odisha, the National Health Authority, and partner institutions. Through this collaboration, BHASHINI’s language technologies—such as translation APIs, speech recognition, and text-to-speech tools—will integrate into beneficiary-facing and administrative applications, thereby strengthening last-mile service delivery and improving citizen engagement.
Inaugural Session and Key Launches
The National Review commenced with a welcome address by the Secretary, Health, Government of Odisha, followed by opening remarks from the Chief Executive Officer, National Health Authority. Shri Mukesh Mahaling, Minister for Health, Government of Odisha, graced the event as the Chief Guest. The session also featured the launch of the Health Benefit Package Manual and a Compendium of Best Practices under AB PM-JAY, along with the exchange of MoUs with partner institutions.
Advancing Digital Health Through Language AI
During the event, Shri Amitabh Nag, CEO, Digital India BHASHINI Division, participated in the MoU signing and delivered a presentation titled “Advancing Digital Health with AI Innovation and Inclusive Language Access.” He noted that as digital health systems scale nationwide, the adoption of artificial intelligence becomes a natural progression. Importantly, he emphasised that for AI to create real public value in a linguistically diverse country like India, it must be multilingual and voice-enabled, ensuring that language does not hinder access to healthcare services. He further highlighted how language AI can enhance citizen engagement, grievance redressal, clinical documentation, and the overall accessibility of digital public health platforms.
Improving Clinical Efficiency Through AI Tools
Adding to the discussion, Shri Kiran Gopal Vaska, Joint Secretary, ABDM, highlighted the practical benefits of language AI in healthcare delivery. He explained that AI-enabled tools such as voice-to-text and natural language processing can help address doctors’ time constraints by enabling smoother patient–doctor interactions while automatically generating electronic health records. Consequently, these tools can improve efficiency and strengthen digital health systems.
Strengthening Citizen-Centric Digital Health Infrastructure
Through this partnership, the Digital India BHASHINI Division will support the National Health Authority in deploying multilingual, voice-enabled solutions across beneficiary-facing and administrative platforms. The collaboration also includes provisions for responsible data governance, secure system integration, and continuous improvement of language models through real-world usage and feedback.
Overall, the MoU aligns closely with the Government of India’s vision of integrating Indian languages into the country’s Digital Public Infrastructure and advancing citizen-centric, AI-enabled governance in the healthcare sector.