“So far the health of India and Indian healthcare looks good,” said Dr. Sanjeev Singh, Medical Director, Amrita Hospital, Faridabad. Speaking at the Times Now Summit 2025 hosted by Times Network, India’s leading broadcast network, in New Delhi, Dr. Singh lauded the country for performing well in key healthcare indicators.

“We have done well with the neonatal mortality rate at 20, the infant mortality rate at 28, and some of the states are at single digits,” he said.

Dr. Singh also called for partnerships in healthcare and technology, suggesting screening for major diseases like cancer. “Prevention should be the key. Unfortunately, we have been extremely curative in our approach. We have dealt phenomenally well with research and technology, but we need to identify a few important preventive biomarkers. We also need to suggest age-appropriate screening. Pap smear at the age of 35, mammography at the age of 40, cardiac profile at 42-45 (years), colonoscopy at the age of 50—these are evidence-based science and these are good practices,” he said.

“We have also done well with vaccine-preventable diseases—the paediatric population. There are 14 vaccines for adults, and COVID is a fantastic example.”

Speaking on artificial intelligence in healthcare, Dr. Sanjeev said it is bringing a paradigm shift to healthcare, powered by increasing availability of healthcare data and the rapid progress of analytics techniques. “We need to be early adopters,” he said.

“It has to basically integrate with all branches of medicine. AI is transforming the way diagnosis is done, the way curative therapies are done, and the way disease management groups are practiced,” he added.

The increasing availability of healthcare data and rapid development of big data analytic methods have made possible the recent successful applications of AI in healthcare. Guided by relevant clinical questions, powerful AI techniques can unlock clinically relevant information hidden in the massive amount of data, which in turn can assist clinical decision-making.

Dr. Sanjeev also suggested that understanding your genome—the genetic makeup—will provide insights into your health and potential predispositions, similar to how a janampatri, or birth chart, is used in traditional Indian astrology.

“The genome-patri is going to make a lot of sense if the gut microbiome is taken; we would know how you behave and why you behave the way you behave and what your next two to three decades will look like,” he said.

Co-presented by Dream Sports and powered by Pernod Ricard India, the prestigious Summit returned with the powerful theme, "Keeping Bharat Ahead." The event was aimed to spark critical discussions on India’s evolving role across key sectors, including governance, economy, infrastructure, national security, and innovation.

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