A nation can rise only as long as its people are healthy. This was the message as Union Minister of State for Health & Family Welfare and Chemicals & Fertilisers Anupriya Patel inaugurated THE WEEK Health Summit 2025. With a line that rang like a national directive—“Only a healthy India can be a developed India”—Patel set the agenda for a day that brought together policymakers, clinicians, innovators and public health thinkers under one roof.
Patel’s keynote address was both a roadmap and a reminder: India’s health challenges, chronic diseases, ageing population, infectious outbreaks and inequities across regions cannot be left to chance. Her address mapped the government’s priorities, shaped heavily by Covid-19’s harsh wake-up call. “Pandemics can hit us any time,” she cautioned, stressing that universal health coverage is not optional; it is inevitable. She underlined how the Centre has been consistently expanding health budgets and strengthening the entire care continuum from village-level wellness centres to tertiary hospitals. The establishment of 23 AIIMS, the expansion of medical and nursing seats and robust investments in district hospitals all point to one central goal—a decentralised, resilient health system.
But the core of the minister’s narrative was prevention. “Health care is not only the responsibility of the minister, but every citizen,” she said. Programmes such as Ayushman Arogya Mandirs are now being positioned as the fulcrum of early detection, lifestyle counselling and preventive medicine. The government, she added, is also banking on public-private partnerships through the Pradhan Mantri Ayushman Health Infrastructure Mission, ensuring infrastructure is built at scale and speed.
Patel elaborated on the five pillars defining India’s health strategy—preventive, promotive, curative, rehabilitative and palliative care. She called GST 2.0 a decisive reform, pointing to exemptions on life-saving and rare disease drugs as evidence of fiscal policy powering public health. On tuberculosis, she highlighted India’s significant progress—a 17.7% decline in TB cases, a milestone she attributed to integrated surveillance, community engagement and targeted interventions.
Digital health was presented as the backbone of India’s future reforms. The Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission, unique health IDs for every citizen, teleconsultations via eSanjeevani and digitised blood banks through e-Raktkosh are not add-ons but game-changers, she argued. “We have learnt from Covid, and we value self-reliance,” she said, stressing the push for domestic manufacturing of medical devices and diagnostics.
Significantly, Patel revealed that the government is drafting a National Action Plan for Future Pandemics, an anticipatory blueprint to ensure that India never again scrambles for systems, supplies or data during a global outbreak. Health is no longer the responsibility of a single ministry, institution or stakeholder; it is a shared national agenda. “What India needs today is a collective, sustained effort that brings together policymakers, health care professionals, private institutions, civil society and citizens themselves. Every individual and every sector must recognise their role in strengthening the country’s health ecosystem,” Patel stressed. “When we prioritise health collectively—through preventive habits, timely care, investments in infrastructure and community participation, we create the foundation for a stronger, more resilient nation.”