Health Minister Nadda Highlights Comprehensive Healthcare Focus
NEW DELHI: Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda announced on Saturday that the central government is prioritizing a healthcare system that encompasses preventive, curative, palliative, and rehabilitative services. Speaking at the third International Symposium on Health Technology Assessment (ISHTA 2025), Nadda underscored Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision for strengthening India’s healthcare infrastructure.
Nadda emphasized the critical role of Health Technology Assessment (HTA) in evidence-based policymaking. He stated that this approach is essential for building an efficient, fair, and high-quality health system, supporting the goals of Universal Health Coverage (UHC).
“The government is focused on providing healthcare, which is preventive, curative, palliative, and rehabilitative,” Nadda said at the symposium, themed “Bridging Evidence to Policy: Health Technology Assessment for Affordable Healthcare.” The event was organized by the Department of Health Research (DHR) under the Union Health Ministry. He added, “The Centre has laid an emphasis on primary, secondary, as well as tertiary healthcare.”
He also highlighted significant advancements in medical infrastructure, including the establishment of 22 All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). Alongside these developments, he noted a substantial increase in MBBS and MD seats, as well as growth in paramedic and nursing staff training.
The Health Minister mentioned plans to expand medical education, with 75,000 new seats planned across the sector. Last year alone, 30,000 seats were created. Nadda added that there are HTA India resource centers in 19 states, which help in setting priorities and have led to improvements in TB detection, healthcare cost optimization, and evidence-based national health programs.
At the symposium, Nadda launched several resources, including the Open Real-Time PCR Kit for diagnosing pulmonary tuberculosis (Quantiplus MTB FAST Detection Kit developed by Huwel Lifesciences), the HTA Technologies Compendium, and the HTA Costing Database, as well as the Patent Mitra initiative.
“With the launch of these flagship initiatives, our country is taking a significant leap towards supporting our innovators. This platform is designed to provide crucial support to scientists, researchers, and institutions, ensuring that their ground-breaking works are protected through patents and made available to the public through seamless technology transfer,” Nadda stated.
He also highlighted the Medical Education Patent Mitra initiative of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), which is aligned with the Med Tech Mitra initiative. This is a testament to the ICMR’s dedication to promoting medical innovation. Developed under the guidance of NITI Aayog and in partnership with the Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP), this program provides comprehensive aid to innovators for patent filings and technology transfers for their medical innovations.
“Medical innovation Patent Mitra is a testament of ICMR’s commitment to advancing medical innovation. With the launch of this initiative, our country is taking a significant leap towards supporting our innovators…This visionary effort propels India towards attaining the goal of Viksit Bharat,” Nadda said.
Nadda also stated that HTA reinforces the Centre’s commitment to inclusive, affordable, equitable, and accessible healthcare. “HTA will play an important role in the realisation of Viksit Bharat by 2047, as envisaged by our prime minister.”
The symposium was organized by the Department of Health Research (DHR), Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) India Country Office and the Centre for Global Development (CGD).
