India deepens use of artificial intelligence to overhaul healthcare delivery

India is expanding the use of artificial intelligence (AI) across its healthcare system to improve access, quality and affordability of medical services, with government data showing measurable gains in disease detection, telemedicine, surveillance and nutrition outcomes. The government said AI is being used to address gaps in healthcare delivery, improve the quality of medical devices, services and drugs, and make care more accessible and affordable, while supporting early detection, screening, enhanced clinical decision-making and remote care.

AI-enabled tools integrated into the National TB Elimination Programme have resulted in a 27% decline in adverse tuberculosis outcomes, while the Media Disease Surveillance system has generated more than 4,500 outbreak alerts since April 2022 by scanning national digital news sources for symptom clusters. Between April 2023 and November 2025, India recorded 282 million telemedicine consultations through the e-Sanjeevani platform, with 12 million patients assisted specifically through AI-recommended diagnoses, the government said.

India’s healthcare transformation is being driven by the integration of AI-powered diagnostics, telemedicine and surveillance tools across both public and private sectors as part of its push toward universal health coverage. The Union Cabinet launched the IndiaAI mission in March 2024 to promote inclusive development, strengthen governance and improve public service delivery, including healthcare. The mission is guided by the principles of democratising access to technology and deploying AI to address societal challenges and improve quality of life.

India had identified AI’s transformative potential in healthcare earlier, with NITI Aayog outlining the role of AI, robotics and connected medical devices as a “new nervous system for healthcare” in its 2018 National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence. Since then, AI tools have been adopted across multiple national health programmes, enabling frontline workers to conduct advanced screenings and extending specialist expertise to underserved areas.

Between 2022 and 2025, the government integrated AI into a unified public health strategy spanning tuberculosis, diabetic retinopathy, disease surveillance, telemedicine and nutrition monitoring. Predictive analytics tools are being used to flag TB patients at high risk of treatment failure, while DeepCXR systems automate the reading of chest X-rays to identify presumptive TB cases in eight states and union territories, helping bypass specialist shortages. In diabetes care, MadhuNetrAI allows non-specialists to capture retinal images that are graded by AI to prioritise urgent referrals, benefiting 7,100 patients across 38 facilities, with India’s first AI-driven community screening programme launched in December 2025.

AI has also been deployed in traditional medicine through Ayurgenomics and the Ayush Grid, combining genomic analysis with Ayurveda to identify disease markers, an initiative recognised by the World Health Organization in July 2025 as a global model for integrating AI with traditional knowledge systems. In cancer care, a national imaging biobank of more than 20,000 patient profiles is being developed to support high-accuracy AI tools for early detection and disease management. AI-based systems are also being used under the Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY scheme to detect suspicious transactions and deter health insurance fraud in real time.

The expansion of AI in healthcare is underpinned by India’s digital infrastructure under the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission, which has issued 799 million digital health IDs as of August 2025. More than 410,000 healthcare facilities and 670,000 healthcare professionals are registered on the platform, with over 671 million health records digitally linked. To ensure safety and standardisation, centres of excellence for artificial intelligence were designated in March 2025 at AIIMS Delhi, PGIMER Chandigarh and AIIMS Rishikesh, while the National Health Authority has partnered with IIT Kanpur to establish a national federated learning platform for validating AI health models. All deployments follow ethical guidelines issued by the Indian Council of Medical Research in 2023 and governance frameworks notified by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, while the health ministry is working on a sector-specific Strategy for AI in Healthcare for India.

The government also cited the use of AI to address malnutrition in tribal areas. In Maharashtra’s Etapalli district, an audit of a government-funded ashram school found that 27% of students were malnourished despite meal schemes. An AI-enabled machine using image recognition and more than 2,100 data points was introduced to assess meals against prescribed menus, revealing missing nutritional components and poor food preparation. Authorities said the system enabled stricter compliance and vendor accountability, leading to visible improvements in nutrition, with the model later replicated across multiple schools in the district.

India will host the Global South’s first international AI summit in New Delhi from Feb 16 to 20, bringing together global leaders, policymakers, technology firms and experts to discuss AI-centred policy, research, industry and public engagement. Separately, the Regional Open Digital Health Summit 2025 was held in New Delhi on Nov 19–20, bringing together policymakers, technologists and public health leaders from across the WHO South-East Asia region to discuss AI-enabled surveillance, diagnosis, early outbreak prediction and support for frontline workers, with participation from Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Timor-Leste.

The government said private sector innovation has also played a significant role in scaling AI-assisted healthcare delivery, with solutions deployed across maternal care, neonatal monitoring, critical care, radiology, vision screening, sanitation and water safety. Under the IndiaAI mission, approved with a budget outlay of 10,371.92 crore rupees, several healthcare AI solutions have been shortlisted for development and scaling, including AI-based lung screening tools, wearable diagnostics, early diabetic eye screening devices, cancer staging platforms and AI-powered personal health assistants. Officials said the growing use of AI in healthcare reflects India’s broader strategy of leveraging technology for public good as part of its long-term development vision.