National Health Authority, IIT Delhi join hands to scale up healthcare innovations for low-income communities

New Delhi, [India], August 12 : The National Health Authority (NHA) and the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi have joined hands to scale up high-potential healthcare innovations which will support innovators and entrepreneurs in improving the healthcare facility of the country.
NHA has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with IIT Delhi in this regard.
Through this partnership, NHA will be a technical collaborator on the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)- supported SAMRIDH Healthcare Blended Financing Facility.
It aims to improve affordable and quality healthcare services for low-income and vulnerable communities, particularly for Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY) beneficiaries.
Through this partnership, NHA and IIT Delhi will support innovative solutions to address the needs and priorities of the AB PM-JAY ecosystem. This collaboration will be crucial to support the rapid scaling and absorption of health innovations across more than 23,000 PM-JAY empanelled hospitals.
Dr R.S. Sharma, the CEO of National Health Authority, said, "It is our pleasure to collaborate with the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi on SAMRIDH Facility. Through this partnership, we will work with diverse health sector players to scale up high potential health solutions and amplify the impact of Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY."
"I am extremely confident that in years to come, this partnership will be a key enabler in making quality healthcare services in India more accessible and affordable," Sharma said.
Reflecting on the scope of the partnership, Profesor V. Ramgopal Rao, Director, IIT Delhi said, "We welcome this opportunity to work with the NHA to deconstruct the key challenges in delivering healthcare services across PM-JAY empanelled health facilities, and support enterprises in addressing the gaps with indigenous innovations."
Highlighting the importance of this collaboration, Veena Reddy, Mission Director, USAID/India said, "Success of this initiative is rooted in partners that are committed to promoting the health and well-being of vulnerable populations."
This partnership will identify innovative healthcare solutions and will provide a platform for a diverse set of organisations, including manufacturers/suppliers of drugs, vaccines and health-tech, private healthcare networks, innovation incubators, social enterprises/NGOs, research and academic institutions, to come together towards solving complex healthcare challenges in India.