India Signals Global Intent in $40 Bn Digital Health Push at CII Summit

With the Indian digital health economy projected to reach USD 40 billion by 2030, the summit focused on key levers, including investment, policy, and platform integration, that could turn India from a digital health adopter to a global architect.

India is positioning itself to lead the next wave of global digital health innovation, with stakeholders across government, industry, and academia converging at the CII Digital Health Summit 2025 to define a bold path forward.

Held in New Delhi on July 25, the Confederation of Indian Industry’s 4th annual summit was framed around the theme “Powering Digital Health: Will India Create, Compete or Comply?” The agenda reflected a rising national ambition: to go beyond compliance with global frameworks and instead shape them through homegrown innovation and scale.

With the Indian digital health economy projected to reach USD 40 billion by 2030, the summit focused on key levers, including investment, policy, and platform integration, that could turn India from a digital health adopter to a global architect.

“India must focus to build and scale home-grown tech solutions which can reach the last mile, enhancing efficiency and efficacy without compromising the quality of care,” said S Krishnan, Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.

He underscored the critical need for continued collaboration between government, startups, and academia to ensure that innovation translates into real-world impact.

The momentum was echoed by Dr Naresh Trehan, Chairman of CII’s Health Council and MD, Medanta – Medicity, who urged the sector to embrace emerging technologies such as robotics, digital monitoring, and AI tools. “Continuous learning and unlearning will be critical, especially in the context of technology adoption, to embrace innovation and reimagine how we can leverage it to achieve universal health coverage,” he said.

Shashank ND, Co-founder and CEO of Practo and Co-chair of CII’s Health Technology Committee, called attention to India’s expanding infrastructure and digital health user base. “Transforming digital health requires us to prioritize quality and outcomes, align capital with performance, and foster innovation hubs that can drive meaningful change,” he said.

Debjani Ghosh, Distinguished Fellow at NITI Aayog’s Frontier Technologies Hub, framed the urgency of preparing for disruption through tech-readiness.

“Trust, inclusion, and scale have powered India’s digital health journey; the next phase is to scale with trust and purpose,” she noted, emphasizing the need for public-private preparedness.

Vishal Bali, Executive Chairman of Asia Healthcare Holdings, argued for a broader scope. “India needs a unified vision for health that goes beyond curative care to fully integrate primary healthcare, something that Ayushman Bharat currently does not address,” he said.

The summit also underscored the regulatory foundation needed to support digital health at scale.

Dr Rajeev Singh Raghuvanshi, Drugs Controller General of India, highlighted the MedTech Mitra initiative as a collaborative model for engaging innovators, investors, and regulators. “To advance digital health, we need more structured dialogues between stakeholders. Scaling will require more such platforms,” he said.

Madhukar Kumar Bhagat, Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, outlined the role of AI in achieving equitable access. 'Focus in health is universal coverage, and technology is a means to achieve this goal. AI for health should be purpose-driven, focusing on how it improves the four pillars of healthcare delivery - availability, accessibility, affordability, and quality of care,'' he said.

From a policy implementation lens, Kiran Gopal Vaska, Mission Director of the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission, emphasized the role of embedded compliance. “Digitizing the regulatory framework and enabling real-time monitoring will make scale-up efficient and compliant,” he said.

CII also released a report titled “Workplace Health Reimagined: Corporate India’s Readiness for Digital Health Leadership”, pushing workplace wellness to the digital agenda forefront.

As India charts its digital health path, the summit reflected a shift in tone: from potential to execution, and from participation to leadership.

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