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India Eyes $40 Billion Digital Health Opportunity at CII Summit 2025

Government representatives acknowledged that while flagship platforms like ABDM have gained momentum, systemic barriers remain. These include limited digital literacy, uneven internet access, weak trust in data systems, and lack of a robust workforce.

• By Pooja Sah
• New Delhi
• Jul 28, 2025

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In Picture: Mr S Krishnan, Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology addressing during the Inaugural session of the 4th CII Digital Health Summit at New Delhi. Photo Credit: www.cii.in

India reaffirmed its ambition to emerge as a global leader in digital health at the 4th CII Digital Health Summit 2025, held in New Delhi on July 25. Organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), the event brought together over 500 stakeholders from government, healthcare, industry, academia, and startups to deliberate on how India can “Create, Compete or Comply” in the evolving digital health landscape.

With the Indian digital health market projected to reach $40 billion by 2030, the summit focused on strengthening innovation, governance, and last-mile delivery in healthcare. Speakers stressed the need to shift from pilot-stage technologies to scalable, interoperable platforms that can deliver real-world impact.

“India has the potential to not just adopt but architect globally relevant digital health solutions,” said Dr V.K. Paul, Member, NITI Aayog, who called for population-based testing grounds—or sandboxes—for piloting new digital health tools. He noted that platforms such as Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM), U-WIN, and eSanjeevani have created a strong foundation but require better interoperability and adoption models.

S. Krishnan, Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and IT, echoed the sentiment, stating that the post-COVID phase has accelerated the digital transformation of healthcare in India. “We must now focus on homegrown technologies that reach the last mile and inspire trust,” he said.

Real-world adoption and clinician involvement remained a core theme across the sessions. Dr Shuchin Bajaj, founder of Ujala Cygnus Hospitals, highlighted that many digital innovations fail because they are not co-created with healthcare providers. “Innovation must solve frontline problems. Technology-first approaches without clinical insight rarely scale,” he said.

Dr Arvind Lal of Dr Lal Path Labs added that India’s digital transformation must focus on measurable usage and outcome metrics. “It’s not enough to innovate. We need innovations that are adopted, especially in rural and underserved settings.”

Government representatives acknowledged that while flagship platforms like ABDM have gained momentum, systemic barriers remain. These include limited digital literacy, uneven internet access, weak trust in data systems, and lack of a robust workforce. Sudhir Rajpal, Additional Chief Secretary, Haryana, emphasised that digital health must be built on trust, accessibility, and contextual relevance.

The summit also saw a strong push for AI governance, data privacy, and interoperability standards. Sessions focused on ensuring that digital tools align with India’s public health priorities such as TB and leprosy elimination, maternal and child health, and chronic disease management.

CII officials said the goal is not just to digitise existing services but to redesign healthcare systems around continuous, patient-centric care. “India can set a global benchmark by building inclusive, scalable, and locally-driven health solutions,” a CII spokesperson said.

The summit concluded with a strategic roadmap that includes scaling successful pilot models through public-private partnerships, developing AI and data governance frameworks, and building digital health capacity in tier 2 and tier 3 cities.