Health AI Hackathon at IIT Kanpur Focuses on Digital Public Goods

The National Health Authority (NHA) organised a Federated Intelligence Hackathon at IIT Kanpur to advance the development of Digital Public Goods for Health Artificial Intelligence. The six-day event, which began on January 19, was held as a pre-event to the India AI Impact Summit 2026 and brought together policymakers, technologists, researchers, and innovators to deliberate on the future of responsible and scalable Health AI.

Collaboration for Responsible Health AI

The hackathon was organised in collaboration with the National Institute for Research in Digital Health and Data Science and the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur. It aimed to create a shared platform for innovation in Health AI that aligns with public policy goals. Participants worked on federated intelligence models designed to support public healthcare delivery while respecting data privacy and ethical standards.

Shift from Pilot Projects to Trusted AI Systems

Delivering the keynote address, the Chief Executive Officer of the National Health Authority, Dr Sunil Kumar Barnwal, highlighted the strategic importance of moving beyond experimental AI applications. He underlined the need for benchmarked, reliable, and trusted AI systems that can be deployed at scale within India’s healthcare ecosystem. According to him, Health AI must evolve from isolated pilots to population-scale solutions backed by robust validation.

Federated Architecture and Population-Scale Testing

Dr Barnwal stressed that AI systems intended for healthcare must be tested on diverse, population-scale datasets before deployment. He noted that federated, consent-driven architectures allow innovation to scale without centralising sensitive health data. Such models, he said, help preserve privacy, build public trust, and ensure compliance with data protection principles while still enabling advanced analytics and machine learning.

Imporatnt Facts for Exams

• National Health Authority is the implementing body of Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission.
• Federated AI enables model training without centralising data.
• Digital Public Goods are open, interoperable, and reusable digital solutions.
• Responsible AI emphasises ethics, transparency, and data privacy.

Policy, Innovation, and the Road Ahead

The hackathon provided a forum for aligning technological innovation with national health priorities. Discussions focused on consent-driven data use, interoperability, and the role of public digital infrastructure in healthcare transformation. As a precursor to the India AI Impact Summit 2026, the event reinforced India’s intent to build a trusted Health AI ecosystem that balances innovation with accountability, positioning Digital Public Goods as a cornerstone of future health governance.