The National Health Authority (NHA) and the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in the presence of Union Health Secretary Apurva Chandra. The MoU was signed by L. S. Changsan, Addl. Secretary, Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare & CEO, NHA, and Prof. Manindra Agrawal, Director, IIT Kanpur.

Under this MoU, a federated learning platform across a variety of machine learning model pipelines, a quality-preserving database, an open benchmarking platform for comparing & validating artificial intelligence (AI) models, and a consent management system for research under Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) would be developed by IIT Kanpur. The platform will subsequently be operated and governed by NHA, thereby unlocking the immense potential of AI for improving health outcomes.

Speaking at the occasion, Apurva Chandra said, “this very important MoU under the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission that will provide an open public benchmarking platform for comparing & validating AI models.”

Changsan stated, “This partnership marks a significant step forward in harnessing the power of AI for our country’s healthcare. It will help provide researchers with access to high-quality data and a platform for collaboration with other stakeholders of the health ecosystem while taking into account all aspects of data privacy. It will also accelerate the development of AI-powered health solutions that address critical health challenges.” She further added that “this MoU will be a benchmark in digital public health goods that will leverage AI and upcoming technologies to strengthen digital public health infrastructure.”