WION Health Pulse: ‘India’s digital and manufacturing strength can lead world healthcare’, say experts | Health News | Zee News

WION Health Pulse: India makes medicines the world depends on. But does it take good enough care of its own people? 

That was the big question hanging over the WION Health Pulse summit held at Taj Mansingh, New Delhi, a gathering of global health leaders, policymakers, and innovators who came together to talk about the future of healthcare and where India fits in it.

The summit covered four key areas: India’s role as the world’s pharmacy, the growing mental health crisis, the rise of AI in medicine, and the place of traditional healing systems like Ayurveda in modern healthcare.

The first session, moderated by WION’s Molly Gambhir, set the tone right away. 

Dr Shubnum Singh, Principal Advisor on Health Policy at the Confederation of Indian Industry, was direct about what makes India stand out globally. “India excels in reverse engineering,” she said, adding that “since we have the volume advantage and the price advantage, India has a place on the global stage.”

But she was just as honest about what India still gets wrong at home. “Two-thirds of the country does not have true access to good primary care,” she pointed out, a stark reminder that being the world’s pharmacy does not automatically mean being a healthy nation.

Dr K. Srinath Reddy, Founder and Former President of the Public Health Foundation of India, brought in the lessons of the pandemic. “Covid brought us the lesson home that taught us to become self-reliant,” he said. 

He also spoke about the shifting global order, noting that “the tidal wave of tariffs and abandonment of western aid programs merely represents the slash and burn retreat of global capitalism from globalisation” a sign that India can no longer rely on old international partnerships and must build its own path forward.

The European perspective came from Dr Carlota Alonso, Founder and CEO of the European Institute for Healthcare Excellence. 

Her view of India was clear, “India has a lot of advantages in comparison with other countries because of its expertise and leadership,” she said. “India sits at a very advantageous platform because of the digital strength, the manufacturing strength, and the medical capacities.”

The message from WION Health Pulse 2026 was simple, India has the tools, the talent, and the scale to lead global healthcare. The next step is making sure that leadership reaches every corner of the country itself.