New Delhi: The Centre is focused on providing healthcare that is preventive, curative, palliative and rehabilitative, Union Health Minister J P Nadda said on Saturday. Inaugurating the third “International Symposium on Health Technology Assessment (ISHTA 2025)” at Bharat Mandapam here, Nadda emphasised the vision and commitment of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in strengthening India’s healthcare system and ensuring accessible and affordable healthcare for all.
He highlighted the critical role of Health Technology Assessment (HTA) in advancing evidence-based policymaking to build an efficient, equitable and high-quality health system, aligned with the goals of Universal Health Coverage (UHC).
Nadda highlighted that the “government is focused on providing healthcare, which is preventive, curative, palliative and rehabilitative”.
He informed that the Centre has laid an emphasis on primary, secondary as well as tertiary healthcare. He noted that 22 state-of-the-art AIIMS have been established till now and there has been a substantial increase in the number MBBS and MD seats, along with a rise in the training of paramedic and nursing staff.
Nadda said the Union government will add 75,000 seats in the medical sector, with 30,000 seats already created last year.
The health minister noted that HTA India resource centres are spread over 19 states and these serve as an important mechanism for priority setting and have helped immensely in achieving various health goals, such as for tuberculosis (TB) detection, optimising healthcare costs and incorporating evidence-based data in national health programmes.
On the occasion, Nadda released several key resources, including the Open Real-Time PCR Kit for Diagnosis of Pulmonary Tuberculosis (Quantiplus ® MTB FAST Detection Kit developed by Huwel Lifesciences), the HTA Technologies Compendium, the HTA Costing Database as well as the Patent Mitra initiative.
“With the launch of these flagship initiatives, our country is taking a significant leap towards supporting our innovators. This platform is designed to provide crucial support to scientists, researchers and institutions, ensuring that their ground-breaking works are protected through patents and made available to the public through seamless technology transfer,” he said.
Nadda also highlighted that the “Medical Education Patent Mitra” initiative of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) aligns with the Med Tech Mitra initiative, a testament of the ICMR’s commitment to advancing medical innovation.
He concluded his address by saying that HTA helps in reinforcing the Centre’s commitment to providing inclusive, affordable, equitable and accessible healthcare for all.
“HTA will play an important role in the realisation of Viksit Bharat by 2047, as envisaged by our prime minister,” he said.
The event was organised by the Department of Health Research (DHR), Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) India Country Office and the Centre for Global Development (CGD).
This year, the theme of the symposium was “Bridging Evidence to Policy: Health Technology Assessment for Affordable Healthcare”.
