ICMR-MINDS honoured for transforming mental healthcare delivery through AI-enabled, citizen-centric digital innovation

In a major recognition of India's growing use of artificial intelligence in public healthcare, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has won the Gold Award at the National Awards for e-Governance 2026 for its flagship digital mental healthcare initiative, ICMR-MINDS.

The award was presented under Category 2 – Innovation by Use of AI and Other New Age Technologies for Providing Citizen-Centric Services, recognising the platform's role in making mental healthcare more accessible, standardised, and technology-driven across the country.

The honour was conferred by Dr. Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, during the 29th National Conference on e-Governance (NCeG) 2026, held in Jaipur, Rajasthan, on July 1–2. The ceremony was attended by Col. Rajyavardhan Rathore, Minister for Information Technology and Communication, Government of Rajasthan, V. Srinivas, Chief Secretary, Government of Rajasthan, and Nivedita Shukla Verma, Secretary, Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG).

ICMR-MINDS is a National Health Research Priority initiative designed to integrate the screening and management of mental health and substance use disorders with other non-communicable diseases (NCDs). At the heart of the programme is an AI-enabled Clinical Decision Support System (CDSS) that allows trained frontline healthcare workers to carry out standardised mental health screening, assessment, follow-up, and routine management with digital guidance, reducing dependence on specialist psychiatrists.

The platform combines evidence-based clinical protocols with digital innovation to strengthen mental healthcare delivery at the grassroots. It features standardised digital screening workflows, role-based clinical guidance, multilingual interfaces, offline functionality for remote areas, gamified learning tools to improve user engagement, and real-time administrative dashboards for monitoring healthcare services.

One of the initiative's defining strengths is its continuity-of-care framework, which creates structured referral and back-referral pathways between specialists and primary healthcare centres. Stable patients can continue receiving follow-up care at nearby health facilities, while specialists are able to focus on more complex cases. This approach improves treatment adherence, reduces patient dropouts, eases the burden on tertiary care hospitals, and optimises the utilisation of specialist resources.

The programme is currently being implemented across seven states through a network of premier medical institutions, including AIIMS Guwahati (Assam), Gujarat Institute of Mental Health (Ahmedabad), AIIMS New Delhi (Haryana project), St. John's Medical College (Bengaluru), AIIMS Bhopal, AIIMS Bhubaneswar, and PGIMER Chandigarh.

Reacting to the achievement, Dr. Rajiv Bahl, Secretary, Department of Health Research and Director General, ICMR, said the organisation remains committed to harnessing technology to address India's evolving public health challenges.

"ICMR will continue to pioneer data-driven, scalable technology interventions to solve complex public health challenges. Through ongoing collaboration with participating institutions and state health systems, ICMR remains committed to providing affordable, standardised, and high-quality healthcare platforms for the people of India," he said.

ICMR credited the success of the initiative to the collaborative efforts of the State Health Departments of Assam, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, and Punjab, along with State Mental Health and Non-Communicable Disease programme teams, district health authorities, principal investigators, healthcare professionals, and field workers who have supported its implementation.

The recognition marks another milestone in India's digital health journey, highlighting how artificial intelligence and evidence-based technology can help bridge critical gaps in mental healthcare while expanding access to quality services for millions of people across the country.