SAHI will act as a national roadmap to guide the development, validation and deployment of AI tools across hospitals, public health and pharma sectors.
BODH, built with IIT Kanpur and the National Health Authority, will test AI models on anonymised real-world health data before large-scale rollout.
The minister stressed that AI must support doctors—not replace them—and operate within ethical, transparent and privacy-focused guardrails.
Union Health Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda introduced two national initiatives, SAHI and BODH, at the India AI Impact Summit 2026, which is being held at the Bharat Mandapam. Both initiatives seek to establish a structured regulatory and evaluation ecosystem for artificial intelligence in healthcare. Nadd stated that, while AI has transformative potential, its use in the sector must be ethical, transparent, and accountable.
SurveyThe first initiative, SAHI (Secure AI for Health Initiative), is positioned as a national roadmap for the development, validation, and deployment of AI tools in hospitals, public health systems, pharmaceutical research, and digital health platforms.
According to officials, the framework outlines governance principles, data management standards, validation benchmarks, and continuous monitoring mechanisms to ensure responsible adoption. Nadda stated that AI should serve as a support system for doctors and frontline health workers rather than replacing human judgement, and that patient well-being must remain at the forefront of technological advancement.
Along with SAHI, the minister introduced BODH, the Benchmarking Open Data Platform for Health AI, which was developed by the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur in collaboration with the National Health Authority. The platform is intended to rigorously test AI models on diverse, anonymised real-world datasets before they are widely deployed. According to authorities, BODH will evaluate systems for accuracy, bias, reliability, and adaptability while maintaining patient data privacy.
Nadda also mentioned the Digital India programme as the foundation for developing strong digital infrastructure. He also mentioned the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission, which established the foundation for an interoperable digital health ecosystem. According to the minister, AI cannot function in isolation and must rely heavily on high-quality data systems and consent-based frameworks to protect privacy.
He also focused on the potential of AI in pharmaceutical research and clinical trials, claiming that advanced algorithms could shorten drug discovery cycles, improve trial precision, and lower costs, thereby enabling affordable healthcare delivery.
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Ashish Singh
Ashish Singh is the Chief Copy Editor at Digit. He's been wrangling tech jargon since 2020 (Times Internet, Jagran English '22). When not policing commas, he's likely fueling his gadget habit with coffee, strategising his next virtual race, or plotting a road trip to test the latest in-car tech. He speaks fluent Geek. View Full Profile
