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The Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Shri J. P. Nadda, launched two major national initiatives — Strategy for Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare for India (SAHI) and the Benchmarking Open Data Platform for Health AI (BODH) at the India AI Summit. These initiatives aim to establish a structured, ethical, and technologically robust ecosystem for Artificial Intelligence (AI) in India’s healthcare sector.

Background: AI in Indian Healthcare

• India’s healthcare system faces persistent challenges such as uneven access to medical services, shortage of trained professionals, rising disease burden, and limited diagnostic infrastructure in rural areas.
• Artificial Intelligence is increasingly seen as a transformative tool for improving diagnostics, disease prediction, telemedicine, hospital management, and personalised treatment. However, large-scale adoption requires clear policy guidance, ethical safeguards, and reliable technical validation mechanisms. SAHI and BODH address these requirements.

SAHI: Strategy for Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare for India

SAHI functions as the national policy and governance framework guiding the integration of AI into the health sector.

Core Purpose:

To ensure safe, ethical, evidence-based, and inclusive adoption of AI solutions across India’s healthcare system.

Key Focus Areas

1. Governance and Ethics:

SAHI establishes norms for responsible data stewardship, privacy protection, and ethical AI deployment. It ensures compliance with legal standards and promotes trustworthy AI practices.

2. Strategic Direction:

The framework provides guidance to state governments, hospitals, research institutions, and private stakeholders regarding validation, deployment, and continuous monitoring of AI-based healthcare tools.

3. Public Health Alignment:

SAHI prioritises AI innovations that address India’s specific public health challenges such as tuberculosis, maternal health, non-communicable diseases, and rural healthcare gaps.

Thus, SAHI acts as the policy “guardrail” ensuring that AI integration remains accountable, equitable, and aligned with national health priorities.

BODH: Benchmarking Open Data Platform for Health AI

• BODH represents the technical infrastructure supporting safe AI deployment.
• Developed by IIT Kanpur in collaboration with the National Health Authority (NHA), BODH is designed to rigorously evaluate AI models before public use.

Core Function:

A privacy-preserving benchmarking platform that tests AI tools using diverse real-world health datasets.

Key Features

1. Privacy-First Testing:

AI models can be evaluated without sharing raw datasets, thereby protecting sensitive patient information while ensuring scientific accuracy.

2. Digital Public Good:

Operating under the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM), BODH enhances transparency, standardisation, and quality assurance in health AI deployment.

3. Reliability Assurance:

It verifies whether AI systems perform consistently across different regions, hospitals, demographic groups, and disease patterns.

BODH therefore serves as the technical “testing ground” for healthcare AI solutions.

Synergy Between SAHI and BODH

Both initiatives function in tandem.

• SAHI provides policy guidance, regulatory standards, and ethical oversight.
• BODH provides technical validation and benchmarking mechanisms.

Together, they shift India from fragmented experimental AI adoption to a structured national oversight model, ensuring both innovation and safety.

Expected Impact on India

1. Improved Healthcare Access: AI-driven diagnostics and telemedicine can enhance healthcare delivery in remote and underserved regions.
2. Better Disease Surveillance: Predictive analytics will strengthen early detection of epidemics and improve public health planning.
3. Cost Reduction: Automation and data-driven decision-making can reduce healthcare operational costs and improve efficiency.
4. Innovation Ecosystem Boost: Standardised testing and governance frameworks will encourage startups and research institutions to develop reliable health AI tools.
5. Global Leadership: India may emerge as a leading hub for ethical and scalable health AI solutions suitable for developing economies.

Major Indian Government Initiatives Related to Artificial Intelligence

Conclusion

SAHI and BODH mark a significant milestone in India’s digital health transformation. By combining policy oversight with technical validation, these initiatives create a comprehensive ecosystem for responsible AI deployment. Their successful implementation can improve healthcare accessibility, strengthen public health systems, and position India as a global leader in ethical and inclusive health technology.