Date: 2026-05-21Category: Press ReleaseState: Union GovernmentCountry: India
Union Health Minister Shri J P Nadda Addresses Side Event on “Artificial Intelligence in Health: Laws, Ethical Oversight, Research and Equity” at the 79th World Health Assembly in Geneva
**Executive Summary**
Union Health Minister Shri J P Nadda addressed the 79th World Health Assembly on May 21, 2026, to outline India’s roadmap for integrating Artificial Intelligence in healthcare. The address highlighted the launch of the "Strategy for AI in Healthcare for India" (SAHI) in February 2026 and the creation of benchmarking platforms to ensure equity. The session emphasized that global collaboration and rigorous regulation are essential to making AI a force for the public good.
**Key Points / Main Content**
* **Strategic National Frameworks**
* Development of SAHI (Strategy for AI in Healthcare for India), described as the first comprehensive strategy from the Global South for ethical and transparent AI.
* Leveraging the 2015 Digital India initiative and the 2017 National Health Policy to create an integrated and scalable digital health ecosystem.
* Implementation of the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (2021) to facilitate consent-based, quality digital health data.
* **Ethical Governance and Equity**
* Commitment to "All-Inclusive Intelligence," ensuring that AI benefits reach all 1.4 billion citizens regardless of language or healthcare access.
* Establishment of BODH (Benchmarking Open Data Platform for Health AI) to validate AI solutions against real-world datasets for safety and performance.
* Insistence that AI must be shaped by sound regulation, ethical oversight, and human choices rather than algorithms alone.
* **Global Collaboration**
* Call for international partnerships to strengthen interoperable health data ecosystems and promote collaborative research.
* Emphasis that no single country can address AI challenges in isolation, requiring collective action for shared healthcare goals.
**Impact Analysis**
**Global Leaders and Partners**
**Impact**
They are encouraged to align with India’s model of interoperable data ecosystems and collaborative research.
**Action Required**
Work collectively with India to advance ethical AI development and address shared healthcare challenges through international cooperation.
**AI Developers and Researchers**
**Impact**
Innovators are now subject to sector-specific governance frameworks and must ensure their solutions are benchmarked for safety.
**Action Required**
Utilize the BODH platform to benchmark AI solutions against real-world datasets to ensure they perform equitably for diverse populations.
**Indian Citizens**
**Impact**
Citizens stand to benefit from a more inclusive and digitally empowered healthcare journey that bridges existing gaps in service delivery.
**Action Required**
Engage with consent-based digital health data frameworks as established under the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission.
Key Entities Referenced
SAHI (Strategy for AI in Healthcare for India): A comprehensive strategy designed to guide India’s healthcare journey through ethical, transparent, and people-centric AI deployment.
BODH (Benchmarking Open Data Platform for Health AI): A platform established to ensure that AI healthcare solutions are benchmarked against real-world datasets for safety and equity.
Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission: A national initiative launched to create an integrated, scalable digital health ecosystem and consent-based health data frameworks.
National Health Policy 2017: A policy document that envisioned India's digital health ecosystem, providing the strategic vision for subsequent digital health missions.
Digital India: The foundational government initiative launched in 2015 to transform the country into a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy.
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
Union Health Minister Shri J P Nadda Addresses
Side Event on “Artificial Intelligence in Health:
Laws, Ethical Oversight, Research and Equity” at
the 79th World Health Assembly in Geneva
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: Shri J P Nadda
“SAHI is the first comprehensive strategy emerging from the
Global South, guiding India’s healthcare journey in an ethical,
transparent and people-centric manner”
Emphasizes India’s commitment to working with global
partners to strengthen trusted and interoperable health data
ecosystems, promote collaborative research, advance ethical
AI development and collectively address shared healthcare
challenges
“Future of AI in healthcare will be defined by collective human
choices, not algorithms alone”
Posted On: 21 MAY 2026 9:16AM by PIB Delhi
Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare Shri Jagat Prakash Nadda addressed the side event on
“Artificial Intelligence in Health: Laws, Ethical Oversight, Research and Equity” during the 79th World
Health Assembly, Geneva.Addressing the distinguished gathering of global leaders, delegates, experts and policymakers, Shri Nadda
highlighted the transformative potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in reshaping healthcare systems,
governance frameworks, economies and the lives of citizens across the world. He emphasized that while
AI presents immense opportunities for advancing healthcare delivery, it must be “shaped by sound
regulation, rigorous research, ethical oversight, and a deep commitment to equity so its benefits reach
every citizen”.
The Union Health Minister stated that India had laid a strong digital foundation over a decade ago under
the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi through the launch of the Digital India
initiative in 2015. He noted that the initiative aimed to “transform India into a digitally empowered society
and a knowledge economy, preparing India for future technologies, including AI.”Shri Nadda further underlined that India’s National Health Policy of 2017 envisioned an integrated,
interoperable, inclusive and scalable digital health ecosystem. Building upon this vision, the Government
launched the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission in 2021 along with consent-based digital health data
frameworks, enabling the creation of quality health data.
The Union Health Minister stressed that digitization and data alone are insufficient to achieve better health
outcomes and that sector-specific governance frameworks are essential for safe and responsible
deployment of AI. In this context, he highlighted the launch of the Strategy for AI in Healthcare for India
(SAHI) during the India AI Impact Summit in February 2026.
He described SAHI as “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 unique scale and diversity, the Union Minister noted that the country is governing AI
for 1.4 billion citizens across 22 official languages and varying levels of healthcare access. He cautioned
that while AI has the potential to bridge healthcare gaps, it could also deepen inequities if not designed
responsibly. To address this challenge, Shri Nadda spoke about the creation of BODH – Benchmarking
Open Data Platform for Health AI – which ensures that AI solutions deployed in India are benchmarked
against real-world datasets so that they perform safely and equitably for every Indian everywhere.
Calling for greater international collaboration, the Union Health Minister stated that no country can
address the challenges and opportunities of AI in isolation. He emphasized India’s commitment to working
with global partners to strengthen trusted and interoperable health data ecosystems, promote collaborative
research, advance ethical AI development and collectively address shared healthcare challenges.
Shri Nadda emphasized that innovation must be guided by regulation, scale must be earned through trust
and technological advancement must remain anchored in equity, ethics and public good.Concluding his address, the Union Health Minister remarked that the future of AI in healthcare would not
be written by algorithms alone, but by the collective choices of governments, institutions and societies.
Referring to Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s vision, he stated that India believes not merely in
“Artificial Intelligence” but in “All-Inclusive Intelligence,” and called upon the global community to
ensure that AI becomes a force for global good.
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