Health Authority And Indian Public Technical University Partner Up To Scale Healthcare Innovations

NEW DELHI — India’s National Health Authority has partnered with the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, to improve the country’s preparedness for emerging healthcare needs with high-potential innovations that will be scaled up and integrated with the national healthcare system.

The National Health Authority has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the technical school in Delhi in this regard.

The government health agency will be a technical collaborator on the U.S. Agency for International Development— supported SAMRIDH Healthcare Blended Financing Facility through this partnership.

SAMRIDH aims to improve affordable and quality healthcare services for low-income and vulnerable communities by scaling market-based solutions, particularly for Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana—a national health insurance program for vulnerable and low-income communities in India— beneficiaries.

So far, SAMRIDH has raised over $100 million from the private sector, which it uses to provide grants and debt financing services to healthcare enterprises.

Through this partnership, the National Health Authority and the Indian Institute of Technology’s Delhi branch will support innovative solutions to address the needs and priorities of the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana ecosystem.

This collaboration will be crucial to support the rapid scaling and absorption of health innovations across more than 23,000 Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana-impaneled hospitals.

“It is our pleasure to collaborate with the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi on SAMRIDH Facility,” said R.S. Sharma, the National Health Authority chief executive officer.

“Through this partnership, we will work with diverse health sector players to scale up high potential health solutions and amplify the impact of Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY. I am extremely confident that in years to come, this partnership will be a key enabler in making quality healthcare services in India more accessible and affordable.”

Under the collaborative arrangement, the institutes will identify innovative healthcare solutions and will provide a platform for a diverse set of organizations, including manufacturers/suppliers of drugs, vaccines, and health-tech, private healthcare networks, innovation incubators, social enterprises/NGOs, research and academic institutions, to come together towards solving complex healthcare challenges in India.

“We welcome this opportunity to work with the NHA (National Health Authority) to deconstruct the key challenges in delivering healthcare services across PM-JAY (Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana) impaneled health facilities and support enterprises in addressing the gaps with indigenous innovations,” said V. Ramgopal Rao, Director, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi

Highlighting the importance of this collaboration, Veena Reddy, Mission Director, U.S. Agency for International Development/India, said: “Success of this initiative is rooted in partners that are committed to promoting the health and well-being of vulnerable populations.”

(With inputs from ANI)

Edited by Saptak Datta and Krishna Kakani