Dr Mansukh Mandaviya, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare chaired the Governing Council Meeting of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), on Saturday.

Dr Bharati Pravin Pawar, Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare was also present. The meeting was convened to engage in discussions on ICMR’s recent contributions, explore the initiatives spearheaded by the Council, and outline the strategic roadmap for the future of medical research.

Dr Mandaviya lauded ICMR’s key advancements and initiatives propelling medical research and development in the country. He emphasized that the Government of India’s commitment coupled with ICMR's relentless efforts, will position India on the global stage as a leader in medical research and development.

Mandaviya expressed satisfaction with the growth being witnessed by ICMR’s research advancements and urged the Council to keep adapting to changing times for India to meet global expectations in medical innovation. He praised the recently launched MedTech Mitra initiative, which aims to support the private sector with development of affordable indigenous medical devices. He also stressed on leveraging our traditional knowledge by a collaboration of ICMR-DBT-AYUSH and Institutions of National Importance (INIs), emphasizing the critical importance of collaborations between government and private sector; and supported the entrepreneurship policy for academic and research institutions.

He further assured the Government of India’s unwavering support and commitment towards accelerating the research and innovation ecosystem of the country. 

Dr. Pawar commended the ICMR's progressive efforts and emphasized the importance of collaboration with other departments to promote targeted research. She highlighted the need for AI-based health solutions to reach remote areas and called for the global relevance and competitiveness of the Indian Journal of Medical Research.

Speaking about the upcoming initiatives of ICMR, Dr. Rajiv Bahl, Secretary, Dept. of Health Research and DG, ICMR highlighted the ‘First in the World Challenge’, a unique initiative by ICMR which aims to develop biomedical products on knowledge that is first in the world. He stated that “the challenge will fund Indian Scientists with excellent ideas to conduct high-risk and high-reward research. Ideas would be funded through an innovative selection mechanism and this will help build the confidence of Indian biomedical researchers.”