India allots $1M for projects tackling critical gaps in healthcare infrastructure

Blockchain For Impact (BFI), a healthcare fund set up during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in India, has allocated $1 million over three years for the BFI-Biome Virtual Network Programme and supports collaborative projects aimed at translating research outcomes into tangible healthcare solutions.

BFI-Biome, a partnership with the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), will support selected research projects in life sciences from the IISc faculty. About two to three projects are expected to receive assistance yearly.

BFI founder Sandeep Nailwal stated that the organization has invested $15 million to advance biomedical research and innovation in India. Under this initiative, the BFI Biome aims to collaborate with leading researchers, technologists, and innovators.

“Through our biomedical research and innovation arm, district-level full-stack partnerships, and process-driven innovation funding and support, we are working towards addressing critical gaps in India’s healthcare infrastructure,” said BFI CEO Gaurav Singh.

The partnership between IISc and BFI lays the foundation of a series of collaborations in the field of biomedical research and innovation.

“With the IISc Medical School, IISc will create the next generation of physician-scientists in India by fostering interdisciplinary research to address the healthcare needs of the world. Access to funding is a precursor towards the achievements of these goals,” said Navakanta Bhat, Dean of Interdisciplinary Sciences at IISc.

Blockchain in healthcare

India has warmed up to blockchain technology, with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman saying that the use of blockchain technology would rise by about 46% in the next few years.

“[Blockchain] gives us so many options. It can be used in so many different ways. So we are not against the technology,” Sitharaman said at an event in 2023.

Due to the large volume of data processed by the healthcare industry, India’s healthcare sector has adopted blockchain for speed, security, and accessibility.

Blockchain’s immutable nature allows it to provide accurate medical records for patients and doctors. This is especially helpful for patients who relocate frequently. Maintaining medical records on the blockchain would enable patients to store all past prescriptions and medical reports for use in any hospital, city, or country.

Already, Gokuldas Tejpal Hospital in India’s Mumbai city is using blockchain technology.

Several premier institutes in India are researching various blockchain use cases to improve the country’s healthcare infrastructure. For instance, the Indian Institute of Technology in Madras has developed ‘BlockTrack,’ a blockchain-based mobile phone application for medical data and information exchange.

Uttar Pradesh government in northern India has approved over 100 research studies by premier educational institutes, including the Indian Institute of Technology in Kanpur, on use cases for artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain in sectors like healthcare and renewable energy.

The research would be funded by the provincial government and is aimed at developing applications for several medical benefits, including detection of early throat cancer among tobacco consumers.

Watch: ‘Disruptive’ blockchain can be useful for India