24 March 2026·PIB

Steps taken to use AI in Cancer Screening

In this note

1. At a Glance

India is operationalising a multi-pronged AI-in-cancer-screening stack: a grant program (CATCH), an ethics/strategy framework (SAHI), a benchmarking platform (BODH), and digital plumbing via ABDM + the National NCD Portal [1][2][3].
Anchored under the IndiaAI Mission (MeitY) and the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoHFW), executed with National Cancer Grid (NCG) — relevant to GS-II (Health/Governance) and GS-III (Sci-Tech) [1][2].

24 March 2026: PIB release by MoHFW consolidating steps to deploy AI in cancer screening [3].
17 February 2026: Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda launched SAHI and BODH at the India AI Impact Summit 2026 [2].
CATCH Grant Program awardees announced under IndiaAI–NCG partnership [1].

IndiaAI Mission approved by Union Cabinet (2024) under MeitY as the umbrella for compute, datasets, and applications [1].
National Cancer Grid (NCG): network of cancer centres anchored by Tata Memorial Centre, Mumbai [1].
Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) (2021) supplies ABHA IDs and sandbox/integration toolkits for AI screening tools [3].
National Programme for Prevention & Control of NCDs (NPNCD) runs the National NCD Portal for screening of common cancers (oral, breast, cervical) and other NCDs [3].

CATCH = Cancer AI & Technology Challenge Grant Program; launched by IndiaAI IBD + NCG [1].
Grant size: up to ₹50 lakh/project; scale-up grant up to ₹1 crore for successful pilots [1].
299 proposals received under CATCH [1].
10 awardees: DeepTek, ENDIMENSION, Foster AI, Lenek Technologies, Manentia AI, Qure.ai, Rad AI, Revan AI, Vyuhaa Med Data, Wellytics [1].
Partner hospitals include Tata Memorial Hospital (Mumbai), CMC Vellore, Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute (Delhi), Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital (Vizag), Malabar Cancer Centre (Thalassery), KNMH Prayagraj, Max Healthcare (Delhi) [1].
SAHI = Strategy for AI in Healthcare for India — national governance/ethics framework by MoHFW [2].
BODH = Benchmarking Open Data Platform for Health AI — built by IIT Kanpur with National Health Authority (NHA); privacy-preserving benchmarking without sharing raw datasets [2].
ABDM provides sandbox + integration toolkits for health-tech developers to plug AI screening tools [3].
National NCD Portal under NPNCD enables digital screening referrals and care continuum integrated with ABHA [3].

Scientific / Technological

AI focus areas under CATCH: screening, diagnostics, clinical decision support, patient engagement, operational efficiency, research, data curation [1].
BODH introduces federated-style privacy-preserving benchmarking — addresses model-validation gap before deployment [2].

Ethical / Governance

SAHI institutionalises transparency, accountability, patient safety, inclusivity as guardrails for clinical AI [2].
Aligns India with global pushes (WHO 2024 guidance on LMMs) for responsible AI in health.

Administrative / Federalism

Convergence model: MeitY (IndiaAI) + MoHFW (SAHI, NPNCD) + NHA (ABDM, BODH) + NCG (clinical network) — cross-ministerial stack [1][2][3].

Social / Equity

Targets three commonest cancers (oral, breast, cervical) where early detection drastically lowers mortality; uses primary-care touchpoints (HWCs, ASHAs) via NCD Portal [3].

Economic

Grant-plus-scale-up architecture (₹50L → ₹1Cr) is designed to de-risk health-AI startups; 10 awardees create domestic IP base [1].

17 Feb 2026 – SAHI & BODH launched at India AI Impact Summit 2026 [2].
Feb 2026 – CATCH awardees announced; NCG-IndiaAI joint spotlight at Summit [1].
24 Mar 2026 – MoHFW consolidated PIB statement on AI-in-cancer-screening steps [3].

CATCH Grant launched jointly by IndiaAI and National Cancer Grid [1].
CATCH project ceiling: ₹50 lakh; scale-up: ₹1 crore [1].
299 proposals received under CATCH; 10 awardees [1].
SAHI full form: Strategy for AI in Healthcare for India [2].
BODH full form: Benchmarking Open Data Platform for Health AI [2].
BODH developed by IIT Kanpur + National Health Authority [2].
Both SAHI & BODH launched at India AI Impact Summit 2026 by Health Min. J.P. Nadda [2].
IndiaAI Mission is anchored in MeitY, not MoHFW [1].
NCG anchor institution: Tata Memorial Centre, Mumbai [1].
National NCD Portal runs under NPNCD and integrates with ABHA [3].
ABDM provides sandbox environment + integration toolkits for AI screening tools [3].
NPNCD screens for oral, breast, cervical cancers among common NCDs [3].

GS-II: Government policies & interventions in Health sector (Governance).
GS-III: Science & Technology — Awareness in IT, AI; Indigenisation of technology.
Possible question stems:
"Discuss the institutional architecture India is building for responsible deployment of AI in healthcare, using SAHI, BODH and CATCH as illustrations."
"AI-enabled cancer screening can leapfrog India's primary-care diagnostic gaps. Examine the enabling ecosystem and ethical risks."
"Evaluate how ABDM and the National NCD Portal create the digital backbone for AI in public-health screening."

IndiaAI Mission — parent initiative funding compute & innovation.
Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) — ABHA, sandbox; pre-requisite for AI integration.
National Cancer Grid (NCG) — clinical network behind CATCH.
NPNCD / HWC screening — delivery rail for population-level AI screening.
WHO guidance on AI/LMMs in health (2024) — global benchmark for SAHI.
DPDP Act, 2023 — data-protection layer for health data used by AI.
NITI Aayog National Strategy for AI (#AIforAll, 2018) — predecessor framing.
HMIS / U-WIN / eSanjeevani — adjacent digital-health stack.

SAHI ≠ scheme; it is a strategy/governance framework, not a financial scheme [2].
BODH built by IIT Kanpur + NHA — not IIT Madras or ICMR [2].
IndiaAI Mission sits under MeitY, not MoHFW — even though CATCH is health-focused [1].
CATCH is run with NCG, not directly with ICMR or AIIMS [1].
ABDM provides a sandbox, not the AI models themselves; models come from private/awardee teams [3].