Moving artificial intelligence (AI) solutions from successful pilots to large-scale clinical adoption remains a major challenge in India, according to a new report. It calls for coordinated action by the government, regulators, healthcare providers, payers, industry and academia to position India as a global leader in responsible AI-enabled MedTech.
Union Health Minister J P Nadda released the knowledge paper on “AI in MedTech: Revolutionizing Healthcare Through Artificial Intelligence” at the 9th Edition of India Medical Device 2026 organized by the Department of Pharmaceuticals in association with FICCI, at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi.
Jointly developed by Praxis Global Alliance and FICCI, the paper examines India’s evolving AI-enabled MedTech landscape and outlines strategic actions needed to accelerate the responsible adoption of AI across healthcare.
While India has built important foundations through initiatives such as the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM), IndiaAI Mission, Strategy for AI in Healthcare in India (SAHI), Benchmarking Open Data Platform for Health AI (BODH) and the National Medical Devices Policy, 2023, the report notes that translating successful AI pilots into routine clinical use remains a significant challenge.
According to the report, this transition will require addressing fragmented health data and limited evidence, developing predictable lifecycle-based regulation for adaptive AI, and creating supportive reimbursement and procurement mechanisms.
The report also highlights India’s opportunity to leverage its software capabilities, digital public infrastructure, clinical diversity and growing MedTech manufacturing base to become a global leader in the responsible development, manufacturing and deployment of AI-enabled medical technologies.
The knowledge paper identifies five priorities for accelerating AI-enabled MedTech adoption in India:
- MedTech represents an immediate and scalable AI opportunity, enabling specialist expertise to be embedded directly into medical devices and expanding access to quality healthcare.
- India has the foundations for AI leadership but lacks an ecosystem capable of supporting scale. While digital infrastructure, innovation and clinician acceptance have advanced rapidly, AI adoption remains constrained by fragmented data, evolving regulation and limited reimbursement pathways.
- India needs to move beyond successful pilots to routine clinical adoption by addressing three ecosystem gaps: AI-ready data and evidence, lifecycle-based regulation, and procurement and reimbursement mechanisms that recognise AI-enabled value.
- AI-enabled diagnostics are expected to be the first large-scale application, helping extend specialist expertise to primary and secondary care, improve productivity and reduce inequities in healthcare access.
- Coordinated action across government, regulators, healthcare providers, payers, industry and academia will be essential to position India as a global leader in responsible AI-enabled MedTech.
Manoj Joshi, Secretary, Department of Pharmaceuticals; Dr.M Srinivas, Member, NITI Aayog; Dr Rajiv Bahl, Secretary, Department of Health Research & Director General, ICMR; Punya Salila Srivastava, Secretary, Department of Health and Family Welfare; Amardeep Singh Bhatia, Secretary, Department of Promotion of Industry & Internal Trade (DPIIT); Sunil Kumar Barnwal, CEO, National Health Authority; Anant Swarup, Secretary General, FICCI; and senior government officials, industry leaders and stakeholders from the MedTech sector were present at the event.
“As India aspires to become a global MedTech hub, AI-enabled medical devices can serve as a key driver of innovation, affordable healthcare and export competitiveness,” Joshi said in the report.
“Realizing this opportunity, however, requires a coordinated ecosystem approach. Robust digital infrastructure, high-quality clinical evidence, predictable regulatory pathways, skilled human resources and collaboration among government, industry, academia and healthcare providers will be essential to translating innovation into large-scale adoption,” he added.
Full report can be accessed here.
