The Union Health Ministry is working towards using Artificial Intelligence (AI) in a safe and effective way in public health in the country.
Health Minister Harsh Vardhan also said in Lok Sabha onFriday that to address gaps in India’s AI ecosystem and realise its economicimpact, the central government has prioritised building AI technologycapabilities.
“The potential of AI in public health is being exploredin our country. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) is workingtowards using AI in a safe and effective way in public health in India,”he said during Question Hour.
Vardhan said few of the initiatives undertaken by thecentral government to use AI in public health are: Imaging Biobank for Cancerfor which the NITI Aayog with Department of Bio-Technology (DBT) aims to builddatabase of cancer related radiology and pathology images of more than 20,000 profilesof cancer patients with focus on major cancers prevalent in India.
He said the NITI Aayog is working on using AI for earlydetection of diabetic retinopathy.
The minister said the NITI Aayog is currently in the processof developing institutional mechanism, funding framework and other such stepsto realise India’s AI aspirations.
Vardhan said the NITI Aayog, after extensive consultationwith various ministries and leading academicians, institutions, practitionersand industry players, has released India’s National Strategy for ArtificialIntelligence in June 2018.”Through the strategy and subsequentinitiatives, the following key recommendations in AI are being pursued,”he said.