The North News
New Delhi, March 8
Union Health Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda said on Saturday that the Indian government is committed to delivering preventive, curative, palliative, and rehabilitative healthcare. Speaking at the third International Symposium on Health Technology Assessment (ISHTA 2025) at Bharat Mandapam, Nadda highlighted the government’s focus on all levels of healthcare—primary, secondary, and tertiary.
Nadda noted the establishment of 22 state-of-the-art All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and a significant increase in MBBS and MD seats. He said the government plans to create 75,000 seats in the medical sector, with 30,000 already established last year. The training of paramedic and nursing staff has also been enhanced to meet growing healthcare demands.
The minister emphasised that Health Technology Assessment (HTA) resource centres are operational in 19 states, supporting priority setting in healthcare. He said HTA has played a critical role in achieving health goals, including tuberculosis (TB) detection, optimising healthcare costs, and incorporating evidence-based data into national health programmes.
During the event, Nadda launched key initiatives, including the Open Real-Time PCR Kit for Pulmonary Tuberculosis Diagnosis (Quantiplus® MTB FAST Detection Kit by Huwel Lifesciences), the HTA Technologies Compendium, the HTA Costing Database, and the Patent Mitra initiative. He described these initiatives as a leap forward for India’s innovators, offering support for scientists and researchers to protect their work through patents and facilitate seamless technology transfer.
He also highlighted the ‘Medical Education Patent Mitra’ initiative of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), aligning with the Med Tech Mitra initiative to promote medical innovation. Nadda said HTA will contribute significantly to the government’s vision of ‘Viksit Bharat’ (Developed India) by 2047, as envisioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Dr Vinod K Paul, who also addressed the event, praised HTA India’s progress and stressed the importance of guiding resource allocation and optimising health investments for maximum impact.
