The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) New Delhi has successfully established a powerful pan-India research consortium by bringing together 20 of the country’s top medical, engineering, and scientific institutions. The consortium, formally launched on January 25, 2026, represents a landmark effort to harness collective expertise and infrastructure for accelerated health innovation tailored to India’s diverse epidemiological and socio-economic landscape.

Participating institutes include several AIIMS campuses (Delhi, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Jodhpur, Rishikesh, Raipur), IITs (Delhi, Bombay, Madras, Kharagpur, Kanpur), Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bangalore, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS), Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) institutes, and leading private medical universities. The consortium operates under a shared governance model led by AIIMS New Delhi, with rotating leadership roles and thematic working groups to ensure inclusive participation.

The primary objective is to enable large-scale, multi-centre research that no single institution could undertake alone. Priority areas include:

• AI and machine learning applications in diagnostics, predictive analytics, and clinical decision support
• Development and validation of indigenous medical devices and diagnostics
• Precision medicine and genomics-guided therapies
• Digital health interventions for maternal, child, and non-communicable disease management
• Public health innovations addressing antimicrobial resistance, vaccine development, and health equity

The consortium will facilitate joint grant applications, shared access to high-end facilities (genomics labs, supercomputing resources, advanced imaging), multi-site clinical trials, technology transfer agreements, and rapid translation of research into policy and practice. Initial seed funding has been secured from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and Department of Biotechnology, with plans to attract additional support from national and international agencies.

Prof. M. Srinivas, Director of AIIMS New Delhi, described the consortium as a “game changer for Indian health research”: “For too long, our institutions have worked in silos. This consortium unites the best minds and resources across the country to solve pressing health problems at scale whether it’s developing affordable diagnostics for rural India or advancing precision therapies for complex diseases.”

The initiative aligns closely with national priorities under the IndiaAI Mission, National Digital Health Mission, and Atmanirbhar Bharat, emphasising indigenous innovation, self-reliance, and equitable health outcomes. It also positions India to contribute more meaningfully to global health research, particularly in areas such as tropical diseases, antimicrobial resistance, and low-resource healthcare delivery.

The first set of collaborative projects is expected to be announced in mid-2026, with a focus on high impact, multi disciplinary efforts that can deliver deployable solutions within 2–3 years.