Union Health Minister JP Nadda calls for democratising technology, highlights India’s Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission

New Delhi [India], August 17 (ANI): Highlighting India’s Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission, Union Health Minister JP Nadda said on Saturday that India believes that digital public goods should be democratised and shared freely in the world.

Speaking at the Voice of Global South Summit today, Nadda listed four pillars of the Ayushman Bharat programme that provides comprehensive healthcare services to the public.

Nadda said, “Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India launched the flagship programme Ayushman Bharat, meaning thereby long live India to provide comprehensive, people-centric and need-based healthcare services through four pillars which is a testament to our commitment to universal health coverage.”

Nadda said that access to, and development of indigenous digital platforms and cutting-edge technologies is imperative for robust socio-economic development and national security adding that, such process needs to be democratised, and undertaken sustainably.

“The first pillar of Ayushman Bharat, “Pradhanmantri Jan Aarogye Yojana’ (ABPM-JAY), is the world’s largest health assurance scheme providing 6,000 US dollars i.e., five lakhs per family annually to over 120 million beneficiaries. The second pillar of Pradhanmantri Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure mission (PM-ABHIM), focuses on filling critical gaps and strengthening health infrastructure and research capabilities,” he said.

The Union Minister highlighted the third pillar, Ayushman Aarogye Mandirs which are health and wellness centres established at the community level.

“These centres provide preventive, curative, rehabilitative and palliative health care services with free diagnostic packages and excess to 106 essential drugs, ensuring holistic health care for the community,” Nadda said.

He asserted that the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) aims to enhance digital infrastructure by creating an enabling ecosystem to harness the potential of digital technology for better healthcare delivery.

“India believes that digital public goods should be democratized and shared freely in the world. In continuation, India is offering technical and financial support through the Global Initiative on Digital Health (GIDH) to countries willing to adopt our customized India’s digital public goods,” he added.

JP Nadda, further emphasized that we must focus on improving coordinated surveillance and establishing early warning systems for zoonotic diseases and Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) by promoting multi-sectoral initiatives to successfully implement one health approach.

“India is implementing a national action plan on AMR and we believe that there is an opportunity for us to learn from each other’s experiences through an exchange of ideas in this sector,” he said.

“The Global South play a crucial role in promoting evidence-based traditional medicines that delivers holistic care to communities worldwide. The establishment of the first global center for traditional medicine, WHO in India has brought the need to optimize the use of traditional medicine in the mainstream, prevention and treatment of diseases,” Nadda said.

India is a first mover in this novel idea of democratising technology and developing Digital Public Goods. Operationalised in the digital infrastructure called India Stack, India’s strategy aims to unlock digital and financial inclusion for its billion-plus population.

The multiplatform system forms the basis for reforms and improved productivity in many sectors including health, education, technologies, and labour management in manufacturing and construction.