The recent signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the National Health Authority (NHA) and IIT Kanpur, witnessed by Union Health Secretary Shri Apurva Chandra, marks a pivotal step in leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI) for healthcare in India. This partnership aims to create a federated learning platform that incorporates multiple machine learning model pipelines, an open benchmarking platform for AI models, and a secure consent management system for research under the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM).

The core objective of this initiative is to revolutionize AI in healthcare by improving access to high-quality, privacy-preserved health data, enabling better research, diagnosis, and clinical outcomes. The platform will serve as a public resource for comparing and validating AI models against benchmarks, tackling the longstanding challenge of data fragmentation and reliability in the healthcare sector.

Shri Apurva Chandra emphasized the significance of this MoU in using AI to enhance health outcomes. He noted that the availability of reliable data is crucial for AI model efficacy in disease diagnosis, and this partnership will help improve the trust and efficiency of AI systems in clinical settings. Ms. L. S. Changsan, CEO of NHA, highlighted that this platform will accelerate the development of AI-powered health solutions while maintaining data privacy, furthering India's digital public health infrastructure.

Prof. Manindra Agrawal, Director of IIT Kanpur, added that this collaboration will democratize access to quality healthcare by empowering researchers, healthcare providers, and policymakers with robust AI tools. The platform will provide reliable, verifiable benchmarks and prevent statistical dredging, ensuring that innovation thrives without compromising data quality.

Overall, this MoU represents a transformative move towards integrating AI with healthcare, offering a collaborative platform that fosters innovation, transparency, and enhanced health outcomes across India.

Source: PIB