Unnati 2.0 Healthcare Day Showcases Innovations Combating Non-communicable Diseases

Author: Ananya Chakraborty

AGNIi - Invest India, the Atal Innovation Mission(AIM) and Business Sweden, through their member pharmaceutical major Astra Zeneca, hosted the Unnati 2.0 Healthcare Day at the Taj Mahal Hotel. The Unnati challenges are user case-driven open challenges for innovative technologies and business models. Unnati 2.0 Healthcare Day was attended by top bureaucrats, public health experts, representatives of the healthcare industry and seven innovative startups in the preventive healthcare space for non-communicable diseases.

The tone of the event was set by Dr Ramanan, Mission Director of AIM, who highlighted the initiatives that were being undertaken by the Government to foster scientific temper in the country and Saloni Malhotra, VP, Invest India, who attracted everyone’s attention to the innovation landscape in the country. They pointed out that instead of hosting challenges where the highlights were just the awards and the prize money, Unnati was trying to give an opportunity to the entrepreneurs to convert their innovations to market-ready scalable products by partnering with the industry. 

Dr Ramanan pointed out how the Government is promoting innovative thinking instead of rote learning at schools, opening incubators at colleges and universities, and holding open innovation challenges involving the industry, academia, Government and individual startups, to inculcate the spirit of innovation across all levels. 

Leif Johansson, Non-Executive Chairman of the Board of Astra Zeneca outlined the disruptions shaping the healthcare industry. He highlighted how digital connectivity, cloud computing and storage are going to completely digitally disrupt healthcare delivery. He praised the Government of India’s renewed focus on healthcare, specifically the Ayushman Bharat scheme, and also pointed out how his company is committed to promoting innovations in Sweden and India, putting 25% of his company’s profits into research and development every year.

At the end of this session, the seven startups selected through the Unnati Open Innovation challenge presented their solutions. These ranged from keychain-sized portable ECG machines, retina as a biomarker software, to precision oncology diagnostic engines. This was followed by a closed-door event where the startups pitched to AstraZeneca. Many of the startups are now in talks with Astra Zeneca for paid pilots, and we will get to know the results soon.

AGNIi is organising a number of such other events where the individual innovators or startups or different Government laboratories are being brought in contact with the industry, to help them scale up and commercialise their products.
There is a general optimism now about India’s rise in the innovation ecosystem. India has the third largest startup ecosystem in the world, where four startups are created every day. Organizations like AGNIi - Invest India will keep working to further develop this ecosystem, and help India scale new heights.