Industry can play role in bringing innovation to preventive healthcare: Nadda

Time of India

3 days ago

New Delhi: Health Minister
J P Nadda
on Thursday called upon the industry to play a role in bringing innovation in the field of health screening, as he listed the efforts made by the Modi government in the sector over the last decade.
Speaking at the CII Annual Business Summit 2025, Nadda said the BJP government in 2017 came out with a comprehensive health policy and preventive healthcare was emphasized on for the first time, along with curative, rehabilitative and geriatric care.
"So far, we used to think in silos. There was no holistic approach. In 2017, we came with a policy which was comprehensive. For the preventive part, we now have 1,77,000 Ayushman Arogya Mandirs. This is the first contact point of citizens with healthcare facilities," he said.
Nadda emphasized the theme 'Building Trust- India First' and called for a unified national effort to strengthen healthcare systems aligned with India's 2047 development roadmap.
"Now we have got a very ambitious plan that is going to reduce the health burden. In 1,75,000 healthcare centres, we have community health officers.
"We have a tele-medicine system attached with the specialist... So a villager would not have to go to a health institution if not required," he said.
"We are called the pharmacy of the world...60 per cent of the world's vaccine production is done here. We also lead in medical devices. What we expect from the industry is innovation for the screening part... We have 1.4 billion people," he said.
He also said the private sector can come up in a big way in the field of tele-medicine.
Talking about the government's effort in the health sector, Nadda said India now has 23 AIIMS, 780 medical colleges, and 1,18,000 undergraduate medical seats. Another 75,000 seats will be added in the next five years, he said.
"I used to believe it is not possible, but PM Modi said think big, don't think small... Now I can say
Ayushman Bharat
is the world's largest health coverage program. All above the age of 70 are covered," he said.
"Ayushman Bharat is not an insurance program, it's an assurance program," he added.
Talking about the COVID-19 pandemic, Nadda said, "In countries like the US, there was 50-60 per cent vaccination. In India, it was the world's fastest vaccination program and in a short span of six months, 222 crore vaccine doses were administered," he said.
The minister also officially launched the CII Centre for Health.
In a statement, the CII said that the Centre for Health will focus on multi-stakeholder collaboration, ensuring low-cost innovation in health, streamlining supply barriers, and catalysing private sector to engage beyond CSR, among others.
Sanjiv Puri, President, CII, stated that India is laying the groundwork for a personalised healthcare ecosystem through the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission, which enables longitudinal health records and interoperability.
Coupled with advancements in AI, economics, and wearable tech, the country is well-positioned to go beyond conventional models towards data-driven, individualised care, Puri said.