NHA and IIT Kanpur Sign MoU to Harness AI for Healthcare under Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission

New Delhi: The National Health Authority (NHA) and the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed at revolutionizing healthcare in India through the use of artificial intelligence (AI). The signing ceremony, held in the presence of Union Health Secretary Apurva Chandra, saw the collaboration between NHA and IIT Kanpur under the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM).

The MoU was signed by L. S. Changsan, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, and CEO of NHA, and Prof. Manindra Agrawal, Director of IIT Kanpur. The partnership seeks to develop an advanced AI-driven platform that will improve health outcomes by providing a benchmarking system for AI models, a federated learning platform, and a consent management system for research.

Speaking at the event, Apurva Chandra emphasized the significance of this collaboration in enhancing AI’s role in healthcare. “This MoU will provide an open public benchmarking platform for comparing and validating AI models, which will ultimately improve health outcomes. The use of data under the ABDM will help create a public benchmark for AI models to better diagnose diseases,” he said. He added that one of the major challenges in healthcare AI is the availability of accurate diagnostic data, which this partnership aims to address. Reliable data in clinical settings will lead to better diagnoses and improved patient care.

Changsan highlighted the transformative potential of the collaboration, stating, “This partnership marks a significant step forward in harnessing AI for India’s healthcare system. By providing access to high-quality data while ensuring privacy, this platform will accelerate the development of AI-powered solutions for critical health challenges.” She further noted that the initiative will serve as a benchmark in digital public health goods, leveraging emerging technologies to strengthen India’s healthcare infrastructure.

Prof. Manindra Agrawal, Director of IIT Kanpur, expressed optimism about the collaboration’s potential to democratize access to quality healthcare. “Partnering with the NHA, IIT Kanpur aims to create a transformative platform that will empower researchers, healthcare providers, and policymakers to unlock the full potential of AI in improving health outcomes in India,” he said.

The partnership between NHA and IIT Kanpur is expected to deliver numerous benefits:

• Trustworthy Models: The platform will enable AI model providers to perform out-of-set validation and establish publicly verifiable performance benchmarks, fostering trust in AI applications within the healthcare sector.
• Improved Data Access: The platform will address the fragmentation of health data, making it easier for researchers to access and analyze data without compromising privacy.
• Statistical Quality Preservation: Healthcare data, which is costly to acquire, will be protected from statistical misuse, ensuring openness and innovation while preserving data quality.

Punya Salila Srivastava, OSD, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Kiran Gopal Vaska, Mission Director of ABDM, and other senior officials from the Ministry and IIT Kanpur also attended the event.