New Delhi: At the 79th World Health Assembly in Geneva, Union Health Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda outlined India’s approach to Artificial Intelligence in healthcare, stressing that innovation must be supported by regulation, research, ethics and equitable access.
Addressing the side event on “Artificial Intelligence in Health: Laws, Ethical Oversight, Research and Equity”, Nadda said AI has the potential to transform healthcare delivery but must remain people-centric.
“AI presents immense opportunities for advancing healthcare delivery but it must be shaped by sound regulation, rigorous research, ethical oversight and a deep commitment to equity so its benefits reach every citizen.”
He highlighted that India’s digital health ecosystem has evolved through initiatives such as Digital India, the National Health Policy 2017 and the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission, supported by consent-based health data frameworks.
Nadda also spoke about the launch of the Strategy for AI in Healthcare for India (SAHI) at the India AI Impact Summit in February 2026.
“SAHI is the first comprehensive strategy emerging from the Global South, guiding India’s healthcare journey in an ethical, transparent and people-centric manner”.
Highlighting India’s scale and diversity, he said AI solutions must work safely across different regions, languages and healthcare settings. He referred to BODH, Benchmarking Open Data Platform for Health AI, as a step towards ensuring equitable AI deployment.
Calling for stronger global cooperation, Nadda said India remains committed to building trusted health data ecosystems, encouraging collaborative research and advancing ethical AI development.
Concluding his address, he said, “Future of AI in healthcare will be defined by collective human choices, not algorithms alone”, adding that India’s vision is not only “Artificial Intelligence” but also “All-Inclusive Intelligence”.
BI Bureau
