Dr. Sunil Kumar Barnwal, Chief Executive Officer of the National Health Authority (NHA), underlined the central role of HealthTech in advancing India’s healthcare mission during the Wellness & HealthTech Summit 2025 held on December 18 at the Hyatt Regency in New Delhi.
The event drew policymakers, healthcare innovators, corporate leaders, human resources strategists and well‑being advocates to discuss future directions for India’s healthcare and workplace wellness.
Dr.Barnwal outlined a vision for healthcare transformation rooted in digital innovation, advocating a shift from a traditional “one‑size‑fits‑all” model to hyper‑personalised, preventive and citizen‑centric care that reflects changing expectations in the digital era. He identified digital technologies as foundational to this transition, with the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) serving as the core digital infrastructure enabling interoperable healthcare services nationwide.
ABDM supports verified teleconsultations, consent‑based health record sharing and patient‑owned longitudinal health data, while adhering to data privacy norms under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act.
Dr.Barnwal stressed that strategic investments in preventive healthcare, including structured and age‑ and gender‑specific annual health check‑ups, could significantly reduce long‑term treatment costs and avoidable hospitalisations.
He highlighted the integration of digital tools such as data analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) across flagship national programmes — including the National Health Mission (NHM), ABDM and Ayushman Bharat‑PMJAY, which covers more than 12 crore families — to improve early disease detection and predictive care, especially in rural and underserved regions. He also drew attention to workplace health, emphasising the need for organisational leaders to adopt a person‑first approach that fosters psychological safety and well‑being amid everyday pressures and stresses.
He urged the strengthening of public‑private partnerships to scale HealthTech solutions that can address major challenges such as lifestyle diseases, mental health concerns and workforce burnout. Looking ahead,
Dr.Barnwal called for sustained investment in HealthTech innovation, stronger regulatory frameworks for data privacy and cybersecurity, and skill development to build a digitally integrated, resilient healthcare ecosystem. He positioned India to emerge as a global leader in digital health by 2047, with technology‑driven healthcare becoming a cornerstone of national health planning and delivery.
The summit agenda also included discussions on employee well‑being, retention and stress management, as well as the evolving role of HealthTech within corporate ecosystems. Senior representatives from major organisations, including Aditya Birla Capital, HDFC Asset Management, Chegg Inc. and Suzuki R&D Center India, participated in these sessions, reflecting broad interest in digital solutions for health and wellness.
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