Affordable Healthcare Innovation Will Define Viksit Bharat 2047, says Dr. R.A. Mashelkar at FICCI Legends Series

POSTED BY  : ANAGHA SAKPAL DATED ON 14/07/2026 (9004379946)

Mumbai (RMN.COM) : Affordable, AI-driven and deep-tech healthcare innovations have the potential to transform India’s public health landscape and will play a defining role in achieving Viksit Bharat 2047, said Padma Vibhushan Dr. Raghunath A. Mashelkar, Fellow of the Royal Society and Former Director General, CSIR, while delivering the FICCI Legends Series lecture on “Winning Through Innovation: Lessons for Industry and Society” in Mumbai.

Addressing leading industrialists, scientists, entrepreneurs, policymakers, healthcare innovators and academia, Dr. Mashelkar said India’s future lies in developing high-quality, low-cost healthcare technologies that combine Artificial Intelligence, deep science and digital innovation to make early diagnosis, preventive healthcare and quality treatment accessible to millions. He stressed that India’s globally acclaimed philosophy of “More from Less for More” offers the blueprint for creating world-class healthcare solutions that are not only affordable but also inclusive and scalable.

Dr. Mashelkar said healthcare perfectly demonstrates the philosophy of “More from Less for More,” where breakthrough innovation is measured not by expensive technologies but by their ability to deliver world-class outcomes at dramatically lower costs. He highlighted several Indian deep-tech innovations, including AI-powered tuberculosis detection through smartphone-based cough analysis, affordable thermal imaging for breast cancer screening, AI-enabled maternal health monitoring, digital community health platforms and non-invasive anaemia detection, that are redefining preventive healthcare while making advanced diagnostics available even in rural India.

Emphasising that India has the opportunity to become a global leader in affordable healthcare innovation, Dr. Mashelkar said the country’s greatest strength lies in combining cutting-edge science with affordability and accessibility. He urged greater investment in deep-tech startups, noting that India’s next generation of entrepreneurs must be built on scientific research, artificial intelligence and breakthrough technologies capable of solving large-scale societal challenges rather than incremental innovations.

Dr. Mashelkar also underscored the importance of early diagnosis in reducing the country’s healthcare burden. He noted that diseases such as tuberculosis, cancer, anaemia and high-risk pregnancies can be detected much earlier through AI-enabled technologies, significantly lowering treatment costs while improving survival rates and health outcomes. He added that India must leverage its digital public infrastructure and innovation ecosystem to build population-scale healthcare solutions capable of serving every citizen.

Highlighting the broader vision of innovation-led nation building, Dr. Mashelkar said India’s healthcare transformation must become a global benchmark for affordable excellence, demonstrating that world-class medical technologies need not remain the privilege of a few but can become accessible to millions through innovation.

Dr. R.A. Mashelkar said, “The future of healthcare must combine affordability, accessibility, world-class quality and complete digital integration. Affordable excellence is not a contradiction, it is the future.” If cancer is detected early, treatment costs can be less than one-tenth of what they become in later stages while survival rates improve dramatically. Early diagnosis is therefore one of the greatest opportunities for innovation, added Dr Mashelkar. “Innovation should not merely create better technologies; it should create a better, more equitable world by bringing affordable, high-quality healthcare to millions of people, ” emphasised Dr Mashelkar.

Mr R.V. Kanoria, Past President, FICCI and Chairman & Managing Director, Kanoria Chemicals & Industries Ltd., said, “The FICCI Legends Series was conceived during FICCI’s centenary as a platform to bring together visionary leaders whose ideas have transformed industries and society. There could hardly be a more appropriate personality than Dr. Raghunath Mashelkar to inspire India’s next generation of innovators.”

“As FICCI enters its second century, our journey must move beyond building industrial capacity to creating intellectual and technological leadership. Dr. Mashelkar’s philosophy of ‘More from Less for More’ provides a powerful framework for innovation that is globally competitive, sustainable and inclusive, ” added Mr. Kanoria

Mr Ankit Mehta, Co-Chair, FICCI Drones Committee and Co-founder & CEO, ideaForge, said, “Dr. Mashelkar reminded us that the true power of technology lies not in technology itself but in its ability to serve millions of people. His philosophy of ‘More from Less for More’ inspires innovators to build population-scale technologies that are affordable, accessible and capable of transforming lives across India.”

The FICCI Legends Series brought together senior industry leaders, entrepreneurs, scientists, researchers, startups, policymakers and academia to discuss the future of innovation-led growth. The session reinforced that India’s path towards Viksit Bharat 2047 will be driven by deep-tech, artificial intelligence and inclusive innovations that deliver affordable excellence, strengthen public healthcare, and position India as a global leader in technology-led solutions for society.