WHO affirms strong partnership with India on the path to universal health coverage: Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General, World Health Organization (WHO) at CII Partnership Summit
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General, World Health Organization who joined the session virtually highlighted India’s vital role in the global pandemic response, noting that Indian companies helped expand vaccine access for low- and middle-income countries. He congratulated India on the Ayushman Bharat scheme for widening access to health services for the poor and thanked India for its support to the WHO Global Centre for Traditional Medicine in Jamnagar, which is strengthening evidence-based integration of traditional knowledge into health systems.
Mr. Saurabh Gaur, Secretary, Health, Medical & Family Welfare, Government of Andhra Pradesh, said Andhra Pradesh is pursuing a technology-centric approach to strengthen public health. He highlighted that Project Sanjeevani aims to place citizens on a personalized healthcare pathway supported by strong digital systems, while the state is simultaneously expanding medical infrastructure through a robust PPP model and moving towards universal health coverage integrated with a unified digital health platform.
The session was held on “India’s Precision Medicine Leap - Harnessing AI and Genomics for Viksit Bharat” at the 30th Partnership Summit 2025 on 14 November 2025 in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. The discussion explored how India can build precision medicine solutions tailored to its unique population diversity, leveraging advances in AI, genomics, diagnostics and med-tech. Speakers highlighted the need to move from West-designed models to India-specific innovations, strengthen early diagnostics, and build affordable, scalable technologies for Tier-2 and Tier-3 India.
Mr. Prashant Tandon, Co-Chairman, CII National Committee on Health Technology and Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Tata 1mg, noted that India is at a pivotal moment where the rapid surge in digitized and real-time health data, together with advances in AI, is transforming healthcare from a largely curative system to one that is increasingly personalized, predictive and preventative.
AI is driving the most transformative shift in healthcare making treatments safer, more effective, and vastly more accessible for patients everywhere said Mr Gaurav Agarwal, Co - Chairman, CII National Medical Technology Forum & Managing Director, Innvolution Healthcare Private Limited.
India’s unique endogamous biobank and rapidly advancing multi-omics capabilities give the country a powerful advantage in pioneering the next wave of precision medicine said Dr. Villoo Morawala Patell, Founder & CMD, Avesthagen Limited.
Dr Raches Ella, Chief Development Officer, Bharat Biotech International Limited highlighted that India’s growing strength in vaccines, genomics and advanced therapies supported by faster regulation and focused funding can help the country accelerate drug innovation and deliver next-generation treatments much sooner than expected.
The real breakthrough in precision medicine will come from medtech, accurate diagnostics, targeted treatment devices, and continuous monitoring tools designed for the needs of India and the Global South said Mr Sudeep Dhariwal, Group Chief Financial Officer, Healthium Medtech Limited.
Mr Kinjal Saxena, Chief Technology Officer, AIG Hospitals, emphasised that AI and genomics developed in the West cannot simply be applied to India, because Indian body types, genomes, and health realities are fundamentally different creating a major opportunity to build solutions truly designed for Indians.
14 November 2025
Visakhapatnam