NHA Hosts Federated Intelligence Hackathon at IIT Kanpur to Advance Digital Public Goods for Health AI

NHA’s Federated Intelligence Hackathon Pushes Scalable and Responsible Health AI

The National Health Authority (NHA) organised a Federated Intelligence Hackathon at IIT Kanpur to accelerate the development of Digital Public Goods (DPGs) for Health Artificial Intelligence . The six-day event, which commenced on January 19 , was held as a lead-up to the India AI Impact Summit 2026 and brought together policymakers, researchers, engineers, and innovators working at the intersection of healthcare, data science, and public digital infrastructure.

Building Collaboration for Public Health Innovation

The hackathon was conducted in partnership with the National Institute for Research in Digital Health and Data Science and the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur . It aimed to foster collaborative problem-solving around Health AI models that can serve public healthcare needs at scale. Participants worked on federated intelligence solutions that enable data-driven insights while ensuring privacy, ethical use of data, and regulatory compliance.

Moving Beyond Pilots to Scalable Health AI

In his keynote address, Dr Sunil Kumar Barnwal , CEO of the National Health Authority, emphasised the urgency of transitioning from experimental AI pilots to trusted, benchmarked, and scalable AI systems . He noted that while innovation in Health AI has grown rapidly, deployment at the population level requires strong validation, transparency, and alignment with public policy objectives. According to him, only such systems can meaningfully strengthen healthcare delivery across India.

Federated Architecture and Privacy-by-Design

A central theme of the hackathon was the use of federated, consent-driven AI architectures . Dr Barnwal highlighted that healthcare AI must be tested on diverse, population-scale datasets to ensure reliability and fairness. Federated learning allows AI models to be trained across multiple data sources without centralising sensitive health data, thereby safeguarding privacy, building public trust, and supporting compliance with data protection principles.

Imporatnt Facts for Exams

• National Health Authority implements the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission

• Federated AI enables learning across decentralised data without data sharing

• Digital Public Goods are open-source, interoperable, and reusable digital solutions

• Responsible AI focuses on ethics, transparency, accountability, and privacy

• Health AI requires population-scale testing for safe deployment

Aligning Policy, Technology, and Health Outcomes

The hackathon served as a platform to align technological innovation with India’s national health priorities. Deliberations focused on interoperability, consent-based data use, and leveraging public digital infrastructure for healthcare transformation. As a precursor to the India AI Impact Summit 2026 , the event reaffirmed India’s commitment to building a trusted, inclusive, and scalable Health AI ecosystem , with Digital Public Goods positioned as a foundational pillar of future health governance.