Union Health Minister Inaugurates International Symposium on Health Technology Assessment 2025
New Delhi, 8 March 2025 – Shri Jagat Prakash Nadda, the Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, inaugurated the third “International Symposium on Health Technology Assessment (ISHTA 2025)” at Bharat Mandapam today. The symposium, 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), focused on “Bridging Evidence to Policy: Health Technology Assessment for Affordable Healthcare.”
Also in attendance were Ms. Bansuri Swaraj, Member of Parliament, New Delhi; Prof. Vinod Kumar Paul, Member (Health), NITI Aayog; Ms. Punya Salila Srivastava, Secretary (H&FW), Ministry of Health & Family Welfare; Dr. Rajiv Bahl, Secretary of the Department of Health Research and Director General, Indian Council of Medical Research; and Mr. Amit Agarwal, Secretary, Department of Pharmaceuticals.
Addressing the gathering, Shri Nadda highlighted the government’s priority of strengthening India’s healthcare system and ensuring healthcare accessibility and affordability for all. He emphasized the critical role of Health Technology Assessment (HTA) in advancing evidence-based policymaking to foster an efficient, equitable, and high-quality health system.
Shri Nadda reaffirmed the government’s commitment to providing preventive, curative, palliative, and rehabilitative healthcare. He noted the Union Government’s emphasis on primary, secondary, and tertiary healthcare, citing the establishment of 22 state-of-the-art AIIMS (All India Institutes of Medical Sciences). He also mentioned a substantial increase in MBBS and MD seats, along with expanded training for paramedical and nursing staff. Furthermore, the Health Minister stated the government’s plans to create 75,000 seats in the medical sector, building on the 30,000 seats created last year.
The minister pointed out that HTA India resource centers span 19 states, playing a critical role in priority setting and achieving health goals such as TB detection, optimizing healthcare costs, and integrating evidence-based data into national health programs.
On this occasion, Shri Nadda released several resources, including the Open Real-Time PCR Kit for diagnosing pulmonary tuberculosis (Quantiplus® MTB FAST Detection Kit), the HTA Technologies Compendium, the HTA Costing Database, and the Patent Mitra initiative.
“With the launch of these flagship initiatives, our country is taking significant leap towards in supporting our innovators. This platform is designed to provide crucial support to the scientists, researchers and institutions ensuring that their ground-breaking works are protected through patents and made available to public through seamless technology transfer,” he said.
Shri Nadda also highlighted the Medical Education Patent Mitra initiative by ICMR, which aligns with the Med Tech Mitra initiative, demonstrating ICMR’s dedication to advancing medical innovation.
Dr. Vinod K. Paul congratulated HTAIn (Health Technology Assessment – India) for its notable achievements. He discussed the vital role of HTA in guiding resource allocation and optimizing health investments. He underscored five major successes of HTA:
- The organization has become a robust, full-fledged office within the Department of Health Research.
- Scientific analysis is of global standards, tailored to Indian needs.
- HTA has created a nationwide network of scientists, public health officials, and academics.
- HTA inputs are effectively utilized in government programs like Ayushman Bharat.
- The integration of HTA inputs in states is gaining momentum, even in a federal system like India where health is a state subject.
Dr. Rajiv Bahl emphasized the potential of HTA to shape Indian health policies and boost the ecosystem for developing cost-effective technologies.
Ms. Punya Salila Srivastava highlighted the role of HTA in strengthening evidence-based decision-making and enabling better patient outcomes. She underlined the role of HTA in government programs like eSanjeevani, Ayushman Bharat, TeleMANAS, and uWIN.
Mr. Amit Agarwal emphasized the need for HTA to promote innovation within the pharmaceutical sector and support the development and adoption of affordable medical products. The symposium featured keynote presentations, panel discussions, and networking to foster collaboration.
The ISHTA 2025 brought together global experts, policymakers, and stakeholders to stimulate collaborations for affordable healthcare and sustainable in India and beyond.
