India’s healthcare sector is entering a defining phase as expanding healthcare infrastructure, evolving care models and the growing adoption of digital health and artificial intelligence (AI) reshape how care is delivered, managed and experienced. The ‘Skilling India’s healthcare workforce for digital health and AI’ report examines how India can build a future-ready healthcare workforce equipped to use digital technologies and AI safely, effectively and responsibly.
The report explores the healthcare workforce landscape in India, key gaps in digital and AI readiness, evolving regulatory and technology drivers, India’s skilling ecosystem, and relevant global learnings. It proposes an indicative National Digital Health and AI Competency Framework (NDH-AICF) built around a three-tier workforce architecture, eight competency domains and four proficiency levels. The framework outlines role-based pathways for existing healthcare cadres while identifying 20+ emerging digital health and AI roles by 2035 across areas such as clinical informatics, health data and analytics, AI, privacy, cybersecurity, virtual care and interoperability.
The report highlights the need for large-scale digital health and AI skilling, supported by coordinated action across government, regulators, healthcare providers, academia, industry and the broader skilling ecosystem. It emphasises that India’s healthcare transformation will depend not on technology alone, but on a workforce capable of combining digital and AI capabilities with professional judgement, accountability and patient-centric care.
