Union government has set up the Translational AI (artificial intelligence) for Networked Universal Healthcare (TANUH) Foundation at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru. This is a dedicated AI Centre of Excellence in Healthcare to advance AI-driven healthcare innovation at scale in the country.
The move is part of the Union government’s vision of ‘Make AI in India and Make AI Work for India,” where the Ministry of Education has set up four Centres of Excellences in AI each located at premier academic institutions in India. Close on the heels of the AI Impact Summit to be held in New Delhi on February 16 and 17, 2026, this initiative within IISc garners major attention.
TANUH AI-CoE is a Section 8 not-for-profit company that focuses on developing and deploying scalable AI solutions for the effective management of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) at the point of care. The centre operates as a multidisciplinary hub, bringing together clinicians, data scientists, and AI researchers. Nine faculty members from IISc, spanning areas of digital health, machine learning, and public health, anchor the centre’s research programmes. TANUH’s core team, comprising executives, engineers, programme managers, and research staff, with significant industry experience, enables the translation of health-AI technologies from the lab to the population scale.
The objective of TANUH is to design and deploy tools for early detection, risk prediction, monitoring and personalised solutions across high-burden conditions such as oral cancer, breast cancer, retinal diseases, diabetes, and mental health. These tools will help frontline health workers, improve primary and hospital care, and include human decision-making to make sure that the care is safe and effective. The solutions are designed to be used directly where patients are treated, follow responsible AI standards, and are created and tested together with doctors and researchers at top national institutions like AIIMS, New Delhi.
“This multidisciplinary TANUH, an AI Centre of Excellence in Healthcare, will deliver scalable AI solutions for NCDs (non-communicable diseases) like oral and breast cancer, showed by our award-winning Aarogya Aarohan app. Also, TANUH aligns well with the ‘Make AI in India, Make AI Work for India’ vision, and seeks to enable accessible healthcare across the country,” said Prof G Rangarajan, Director, IISc and Chair, Board of Directors, TANUH.
In fact, TANUH has already launched Aarogya Aarohan, an application developed by the CoE’s Oral Cancer Screening team, in collaboration with AIIMS, ARTPARK, Biocon Foundation, BITS Pilani (Goa), KLE Society’s Institute of Dental Sciences, Triveous, and other clinical and industrial partners, with guidance from the Oral Cancer Task Force. Aarogya Aarohan is a point-of-care, AI-empowered, white-light, mobile phone-based tool for the early detection of oral potentially malignant disorders (OPMD) and oral cancers. It was awarded the Best Education Institute Exhibit of the Year for its innovative AI-based oral cancer screening tool, at the India Mobile Congress (IMC) held in October 2025, he added.
Further, TANUH is working closely with a wide range of healthcare providers, industry partners, and government bodies to support large-scale deployment and to ensure that the benefits of AI reach communities across the country as a Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI). The AI tools being developed will help transform clinical and frontline care to make healthcare timely, accessible, and effective for every citizen of India. |