ICMR-National Institute for Research in Digital Health

Artificial Intelligence is rapidly transforming healthcare, from disease diagnosis and clinical decision support to drug discovery and health system management. However, ensuring that AI works for everyone requires trust, diversity, and inclusive data ecosystems.

At the India AI Impact Summit 2026, the Government of India launched the Strategy for AI in Healthcare for India (SAHI) - a national framework to guide the responsible, ethical, and patient-centred integration of AI into India’s health system. Alongside this, initiatives such as BODH (Benchmarking Open Data Platform for Health AI) aim to strengthen validation, safety, and real-world testing of AI tools before large-scale deployment.

As highlighted during the summit, Dr. Mona Duggal, Director of ICMR-National Institute for Research in Digital Health and Data Science (NIRDHDS), emphasised four key priorities for advancing AI in health:
• Collating high-quality data across research institutions
• Building strong private sector partnerships
• Generating real-world evidence through ICMR’s research network
• Integrating health and medical professionals into the AI workforce pipeline

Strengthening data quality and evidence generation will be critical to building trustworthy AI systems that support better health policy and clinical decision-making.

Read more at:
https://www.pib.gov.in/PressNoteDetails.aspx?NoteId=157657&ModuleId=3®=3&lang=1

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Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India | DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH RESEARCH (DHR) M/O Health & Family Welfare, Government of India | Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) | Dr. Mona Duggal | Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology | India AI Impact Summit 2026 | Digital India Programme | National Health Authority (NHA) | World Health Organization South-East Asia | NITI Aayog | Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur

Press Note Details: Press Information Bureau Press Information Bureau (PIB) is the nodal agency of the Government of India to disseminate information to the print and electronic media on government policies, programmes, initiatives and achievements.

📍 India AI Impact Summit 2026 | 🗓 16 February 2026 | New Delhi

ICMR–National Institute for Research in Digital Health and Data Science (ICMR-NIRDHDS) marked an impactful Day 1 at the India AI Impact Summit 2026, contributing across jury leadership, global governance dialogue, national policy engagement, health equity discussions, and strategic partnerships.

🔹 Physical Jury Round - AI By HER Global Impact Challenge
Dr Mona Duggal served as Jury Member for the flagship challenge spotlighting women-led, impact-first AI solutions aligned with India’s Digital Public Infrastructure vision. The programme concluded with the announcement of the Top 10 winners.

🔹 From Guardrails to Adaptive Governance in the Global South
Dr Anshul Chauhan represented ICMR-NIRDHDS in discussions with HealthAI and DAKSHIN on enabling safe, trusted, and scalable AI in health through flexible, context-sensitive governance and cross-sector collaboration.

🔹 National Launch - AI Readiness Assessment Methodology (RAM) Report of India
Dr Suhela Kapoor participated in the National Launch of the RAM Report, anchored in UNESCO’s Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence and launched with the IndiaAI Mission and MeitY, outlining India’s roadmap for ethical and human-centred AI.

🔹 Harnessing AI for Health Equity
Dr Mona Duggal contributed to conversations on strengthening health systems, expanding access, and building trust through strong governance and digital capacity.

🔹 MoU Signing: ICMR-NIRDHDS x NIMS University
Dr Mona Duggal formalized an MoU with NIMS University to advance collaboration in digital health, data science, and public health research and education.

Follow our page for more updates from the India AI Impact Summit 2026.

Indian Council of Medical Research | DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH RESEARCH (DHR) M/O Health & Family Welfare, Government of India | Dr Garima Jain | Dr Vishal Deo | Stuti Tripathi | Dr Arti Yadav | Sonam Kumar | Prof Ajay Kumar Sood | Anant Bhan | Ricardo Baptista Leite | Monika Kochar | Vidushi Chaturvedi | Ms Deepali Upadhyay | Ms Anna Roy | HealthAI – The Global Agency for Responsible AI in Health | DAKSHIN – Global South Centre of Excellence | IndiaAI Mission | Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) | NIMS University | EKAGAI Law | India AI Impact Summit

We are pleased to share that Dr. Mona Duggal, Director, ICMR-National Institute for Research in Digital health and Data Science (ICMR-NIRDHDS), has been invited to serve as a Jury Member for the "AI by HER Global Impact Challenge" on February 16, 2026, from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM at Sushma Swaraj Bhawan, New Delhi, as part of the India-AI Impact Summit 2026.

The summit, organized by NITI Aayog, brings together innovators, policymakers, and thought leaders to advance inclusive and responsible AI.

We look forward to engaging with inspiring innovators and contributing to meaningful discussions that strengthen equitable, ethical, and responsible AI for public good. ICMR-NIRDHDS is honored to be part of this important national platform.

Indian Council of Medical Research(ICMR) | Department Of Health Research(DHR) M/O Health & Family Welfare, Government of India | INDIAai | Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology, Government of India

📜 𝗔𝗱𝘃𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗴𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 𝗔𝗜 𝗶𝗻 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗮

ICMR-National Institute for Research in Digital health and Data Science (ICMR-NIRDHDS) is pleased to organise a focused panel discussion on:
"𝗥𝗲𝗴𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗣𝗮𝘁𝗵𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗔𝗜-𝗗𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗠𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗗𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀 - Bridging Training, Validation, and Clinical Evaluation", scheduled during the India AI Impact Summit 2026, in collaboration with Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

As AI-enabled medical devices transition from innovation to real-world clinical deployment, strengthening regulatory clarity, clinical validation, and responsible implementation becomes essential. This session brings together regulators, clinicians, industry leaders, and AI experts to deliberate on building robust, ethical, and evidence-driven pathways for Health AI adoption in India.

🔹𝗦𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗗𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘀

📅 20 February 2026

🕦 11:30 AM – 12:25 PM

📍 Room No. 7, Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi

✨𝘓𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘶𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘧𝘦, 𝘦𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘺 𝘈𝘐-𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘴.

🔗 Limited slots available | Registration via QR code

Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) | Department Of Health Research (DHR) M/O Health & Family Welfare, Government of India | Dr. Mona Duggal

ICMR-National Institute for Research in Digital health and Data Science (ICMR-NIRDHDS) congratulates Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS), Srinagar, on the successful organization of the SKIMS AI Summit 2026 on 22 January 2026, in collaboration with DataLEADS, as a flagship pre-summit event of the upcoming India AI Impact Summit 2026.

It was our privilege to participate in this landmark event¬, the first dedicated forum in Jammu & Kashmir focusing exclusively on the transformative and responsible use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in healthcare.

Dr. Vishal Deo from ICMR-NIRDHDS delivered a Plenary Talk on “AI in Disease Surveillance and Clinical Trials”, showcasing AI-driven use cases from ongoing research at the institute that hold the potential to strengthen healthcare at the community level in India.

We look forward to collaboration with SKIMS in designing and implementing context-specific research initiatives in Jammu & Kashmir aimed at advancing the adoption of responsible AI-driven solutions in health and healthcare delivery.

Dr. Mona Duggal | Indian Council of Medical Research(ICMR) | Department Of Health Research | INDIAai | Digital India | Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology, Government of India

We are pleased to share that ICMR-National Institute for Research in Digital health and Data Science (ICMR-NIRDHDS) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with ARTPARK.

This collaboration brings together deep-tech capabilities and public health leadership to address complex, real-world health challenges through digital health, data science, and responsible AI. The partnership is rooted in a common vision of developing open and reliable digital public goods that enable ethical, evidence-driven, and policy-relevant use of data.

By aligning research, innovation, and implementation, this engagement aims to generate scalable, context-sensitive solutions that serve public interest and strengthen national health systems.

We look forward to working together to build a more resilient, transparent, and trustworthy digital health ecosystem for India.

Indian Council of Medical Research | Department Of Health Research | Indian Institute of Science (IISc) | Department of Science and Technology, Government of India | IT BT Department, Karnataka | Dr. Mona Duggal | Dr. Garima Jain | Dr. Vishal Deo | Dr. Suhela Kapoor, PhD | Dr. Anshul Chauhan | Sonam Kumar | Aarti Yadav | Raghu Dharmaraju | Nishant Chavan | Tanmaya Vyas

There’s always hope in science.
On , ICMR reiterates its commitment to strengthening cancer research, innovation, early detection & equitable care—driving evidence-based solutions for India. 🎗️