The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare will convene the 16th Conference of the Central Council of Health and Family Welfare (CCHFW) on June 29 at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi, where Union Health and Family Welfare Minister J.P. Nadda will also launch a series of flagship digital health initiatives, including Aarogya Setu 2.0, as part of the government’s push to strengthen India’s Digital Public Infrastructure for Health.
Nadda will chair the conference, which will be attended by Ministers of State for Health and Family Welfare Anupriya Patel and Prataprao Jadhav, Health Ministers from States and Union Territories, Members of Parliament, senior officials from the Centre and States, non-official members and eminent experts. The meeting aims to strengthen Centre-State cooperation in the health sector and deliberate on key policy priorities.
The thematic sessions will focus on “National Health Mission (NHM) – SDG Goals & Priorities”, “Food & Drug Reforms” and “Allied Health Services”, with discussions centred on reviewing ongoing initiatives, sharing best practices, addressing emerging challenges and formulating a coordinated roadmap to improve health outcomes across the country.
On the sidelines of the conference, the Health Minister will launch several digital health initiatives developed under the National Health Authority (NHA) and the National Resource Centre for EHR Standards (NRCeS). The flagship Aarogya Setu 2.0 will serve as a comprehensive Personal Health Record (PHR) application, enabling citizens to create and manage their Ayushman Bharat Health Account (ABHA), access and share digital health records, receive AI-powered health insights, integrate wearable devices, register for OPD services, make hospital payments and manage family health records. The application will also provide access to nearby healthcare facilities, ambulance services, blood banks, Jan Aushadhi Kendras and PM-JAY services.
The upgraded Ayushman App will offer beneficiaries of Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY a one-stop platform for eligibility verification, Ayushman Card services, treatment history, hospital discovery, grievance redressal and beneficiary support. Ayushman Sarathi, a WhatsApp chatbot, will also be launched to provide PM-JAY services through a conversational interface, improving last-mile access to healthcare services.
Other major initiatives include the National Health Claims Exchange (NHCX), which will enable standardised digital processing of health insurance claims across public and private insurers, the Unified Health Interface (UHI) for interoperable digital healthcare services, and e-Sushrut Clinic, a clinic management solution to help healthcare providers digitise clinical workflows and integrate with the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission ecosystem.
The government will also launch the Drug Registry, Common LOINC Codes for India (CLCI) and the Bharat Health Terminology Service (BHTS), which aim to standardise healthcare data, laboratory information and medical terminologies, enabling seamless exchange of health information across hospitals, laboratories, insurers and digital health platforms.
Constituted under Article 263 of the Constitution, the Central Council of Health and Family Welfare is the apex advisory body of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. It reviews the implementation of medical and public health policies and serves as a key institutional platform for promoting cooperative federalism through policy consultations and coordination between the Centre and States.
