IndiaAI, the Government of India’s flagship initiative under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), implemented through the Digital India Corporation (DIC), has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the country’s apex biomedical and health research body.
The partnership marks a major step towards improving healthcare outcomes through the responsible, scalable, and ethical application of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in India.
Collaboration Aims to Build a National AI Ecosystem for Healthcare
Through this MoU, IndiaAI and ICMR will establish a structured framework for collaboration by combining IndiaAI’s technological infrastructure and AI ecosystem capabilities with ICMR’s expertise in biomedical research and public health.
Together, the two institutions aim to create a nationally coherent and interoperable AI ecosystem for healthcare across India.
Partnership Leverages Complementary Strengths
Under the collaboration, both organisations will utilise their respective strengths to accelerate healthcare innovation.
IndiaAI will contribute:
- Advanced compute infrastructure
- AI dataset platforms
- AI skilling initiatives
Meanwhile, ICMR will provide:
- Biomedical research expertise
- Public health knowledge
- Its Medical Information Data for AI Solutions (MIDAS) framework
As a result, the partnership will support the development, research, and deployment of AI-driven healthcare solutions.
ICMR to Contribute Datasets to AIKosh Platform
As part of the collaboration, ICMR will contribute anonymised and ethics-approved health research datasets, AI models, and toolkits developed under the MIDAS framework to the AIKosh dataset platform.
This initiative will provide researchers, startups, and innovators across India with broader access to high-quality biomedical datasets, thereby accelerating AI research and innovation in healthcare.
IndiaAI to Provide High-Performance Computing Access
To strengthen research capabilities, IndiaAI will provide ICMR access to GPU-based and high-performance computing infrastructure at subsidised rates, subject to defined service-level agreements.
This support is expected to bridge a major infrastructure gap and help scale advanced AI research in healthcare and biomedical sciences.
Institutions to Co-Develop AI Solutions for Public Health Challenges
The partnership will also focus on co-developing AI-powered solutions to address key public health challenges in India.
These solutions will draw on ICMR’s disease burden data and public health expertise, while leveraging IndiaAI’s technology stack and digital infrastructure.
Consequently, the collaboration aims to create practical and scalable AI applications capable of strengthening healthcare delivery and improving patient outcomes nationwide.
Partnership Builds on Existing Global AI Healthcare Initiatives
The MoU builds upon ongoing collaboration between the two institutions. In September 2025, IndiaAI and ICMR’s National Institute for Research in Digital Health and Data Sciences (NIRDHDS) received recognition as Pioneer Countries under the HealthAI Global Regulatory Network (GRN).
As reported by pib.gov.in, the multilateral initiative, co-founded with the United Kingdom and Singapore, focuses on advancing responsible governance frameworks for AI in healthcare.
Subsequently, IndiaAI, ICMR (NIRDHDS), and HealthAI signed a tripartite MoU to further strengthen collaboration and lay the groundwork for operationalising a responsible AI ecosystem for healthcare in India.
Focus on Ethical and Responsible AI Deployment
The IndiaAI–ICMR collaboration aims to accelerate innovation at the intersection of technology and public health while maintaining strict adherence to ethical standards, data privacy norms, and regulatory frameworks.
By combining digital infrastructure with biomedical expertise, the partnership seeks to strengthen India’s healthcare ecosystem and promote the responsible use of AI for public health advancement.