Union Minister Highlights Technology for Accessible Healthcare at AMCHAM Summit
Wednesday, 17 July 2024, 15:25 IST
Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh addressed the American Chamber of India (AMCHAM) Healthcare Summit held at Hotel Taj, highlighting the pivotal role of the latest technology in making healthcare accessible and affordable for all. Dr. Singh underscored India's position as one of the top six biomanufacturers globally, renowned for its cost-effective and efficacy-based biomanufacturing.
In his opening remarks, Dr. Singh, who is the Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science and Technology, Earth Sciences, and Minister of State for the Prime Minister's Office, Department of Atomic Energy and Department of Space, and Personnel, Public Grievances, and Pensions, expressed gratitude to AMCHAM for organizing the summit. He articulated the government's vision for healthcare, emphasizing the importance of technological advancements in transforming the healthcare landscape in India.
A renowned endocrinologist with a three-decade-long career in medicine, Dr. Singh highlighted the new burden of metabolic disorders and the challenges posed by a spectrum of diseases emerging from increased life spans. He appreciated the summit's theme, 'Accelerating Innovative and Accessible Healthcare: Technology Transformation', as it resonates with India's current health issues and governmental efforts to provide affordable healthcare for all.
Dr. Singh noted that summits like AMCHAM's are crucial for bringing together key stakeholders, including healthcare professionals, technology experts, policymakers, and industry leaders, to strengthen the U.S.-India partnership in healthcare. He praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision for a healthy India, emphasizing the elimination of communicable diseases, reduction in non-communicable diseases, improvement of health indices, and steady progress in healthcare initiatives.
"India carried out the world’s largest vaccination drive during the COVID pandemic", Dr. Singh remarked, "reaffirming that the Modi Government firmly believes that accessible healthcare is a right for every citizen". He added that India has transformed from a nation seeking medical facilities abroad to a hub for medical tourism and a leader in preventive healthcare.
Highlighting the government's achievements, Dr. Singh mentioned the Ayushman Bharat scheme, which provides cashless medical treatment to citizens, the Digital Healthcare Mission, and the integration of traditional medical streams such as Ayush. He stressed that technology plays a crucial role in ensuring equitable access to healthcare, with Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) revolutionizing the sector. By leveraging these technologies, efficiency can be enhanced, wait times reduced, and overall healthcare delivery improved.
Sharing his experience with telemedicine, Dr. Singh illustrated how it has transformed healthcare services, making them accessible even to the remotest villages in Jammu and Kashmir. He emphasized the importance of increased cooperation between the public and private sectors, noting that public health is not solely the government's responsibility but requires private participation and collective societal efforts.
Dr. Singh also highlighted the significant investments and growth in the space sector, noting that opening up the sector had attracted private investments of more than Rs 1,000 crore within a few months and boosted the number of startups from one in 2022 to over 200, demonstrating global capacity. He praised the Department of Biotechnology for fostering research and development in translational health sciences, noting that the bio-manufacturing sector had grown tenfold, from $13 billion in 2014 to $130 billion in 2024.
The minister highlighted India's pharmaceutical sector, stating, "India supplies four out of every ten prescriptions filled in the U.S., underscoring our pharmaceutical manufacturing capabilities". He emphasized that the partnership between India and the United States is critical for advancing healthcare.
Ms. Ranjana Khanna, Director General and CEO of AMCHAM, Mr. Som Satsangi, Chairman of AMCHAM and Senior Vice President and MD of India Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Dr. Rajeev Singh Raghuvanshi, Drug Controller General of India, Mr. Madan Krishnan, Vice President and Managing Director of the India Subcontinent at Boston Scientific, and Mr. Chaitanya Sarawate, Managing Director of Wipro GE Healthcare, also participated in the summit.
In his opening remarks, Dr. Singh, who is the Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science and Technology, Earth Sciences, and Minister of State for the Prime Minister's Office, Department of Atomic Energy and Department of Space, and Personnel, Public Grievances, and Pensions, expressed gratitude to AMCHAM for organizing the summit. He articulated the government's vision for healthcare, emphasizing the importance of technological advancements in transforming the healthcare landscape in India.
A renowned endocrinologist with a three-decade-long career in medicine, Dr. Singh highlighted the new burden of metabolic disorders and the challenges posed by a spectrum of diseases emerging from increased life spans. He appreciated the summit's theme, 'Accelerating Innovative and Accessible Healthcare: Technology Transformation', as it resonates with India's current health issues and governmental efforts to provide affordable healthcare for all.
Dr. Singh noted that summits like AMCHAM's are crucial for bringing together key stakeholders, including healthcare professionals, technology experts, policymakers, and industry leaders, to strengthen the U.S.-India partnership in healthcare. He praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision for a healthy India, emphasizing the elimination of communicable diseases, reduction in non-communicable diseases, improvement of health indices, and steady progress in healthcare initiatives.
"India carried out the world’s largest vaccination drive during the COVID pandemic", Dr. Singh remarked, "reaffirming that the Modi Government firmly believes that accessible healthcare is a right for every citizen". He added that India has transformed from a nation seeking medical facilities abroad to a hub for medical tourism and a leader in preventive healthcare.
Highlighting the government's achievements, Dr. Singh mentioned the Ayushman Bharat scheme, which provides cashless medical treatment to citizens, the Digital Healthcare Mission, and the integration of traditional medical streams such as Ayush. He stressed that technology plays a crucial role in ensuring equitable access to healthcare, with Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) revolutionizing the sector. By leveraging these technologies, efficiency can be enhanced, wait times reduced, and overall healthcare delivery improved.
Sharing his experience with telemedicine, Dr. Singh illustrated how it has transformed healthcare services, making them accessible even to the remotest villages in Jammu and Kashmir. He emphasized the importance of increased cooperation between the public and private sectors, noting that public health is not solely the government's responsibility but requires private participation and collective societal efforts.
Dr. Singh also highlighted the significant investments and growth in the space sector, noting that opening up the sector had attracted private investments of more than Rs 1,000 crore within a few months and boosted the number of startups from one in 2022 to over 200, demonstrating global capacity. He praised the Department of Biotechnology for fostering research and development in translational health sciences, noting that the bio-manufacturing sector had grown tenfold, from $13 billion in 2014 to $130 billion in 2024.
The minister highlighted India's pharmaceutical sector, stating, "India supplies four out of every ten prescriptions filled in the U.S., underscoring our pharmaceutical manufacturing capabilities". He emphasized that the partnership between India and the United States is critical for advancing healthcare.
Ms. Ranjana Khanna, Director General and CEO of AMCHAM, Mr. Som Satsangi, Chairman of AMCHAM and Senior Vice President and MD of India Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Dr. Rajeev Singh Raghuvanshi, Drug Controller General of India, Mr. Madan Krishnan, Vice President and Managing Director of the India Subcontinent at Boston Scientific, and Mr. Chaitanya Sarawate, Managing Director of Wipro GE Healthcare, also participated in the summit.
