West Bengal Set for Healthcare Revolution Emphasising Human-Centered AI

PARTHA ROY, KOLKATA: Healthcare services in West Bengal are expected to undergo a sea change, with notable improvements in both urban and rural healthcare delivery, industry leaders and experts highlighted at ASSOCHAM’s 6th Edition of The HealthMeet and Excellence Awards 2026 held in Kolkata on 29th May 2026.

The event, themed “The Future of Health: Human Centered AI”, underscored that although Artificial Intelligence can significantly improve disease diagnosis and clinical efficiency, the healthcare industry will continue to fundamentally depend on human care. Hospitals across private and government sectors must exercise utmost discernment and caution when integrating AI, particularly while analysing individual patient cases. Speakers repeatedly stressed the irreplaceable importance of the doctor-patient relationship and the caring human touch, which no technology, including AI, can replicate.

Dr. Ajay Swaroop, Chairman, Board of Management, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, strongly emphasised that the human touch in doctor-patient care will remain vital in healthcare delivery. AI’s effectiveness is critically dependent on the purity and accuracy of training data — any inadvertent errors can result in completely wrong diagnoses, experts warned.

Chief Guest Dr. Indranil Khan, eminent medical doctor and MLA, stated that West Bengal is poised to witness a revolution in the health sector and emerge as a major centre for health-tech entrepreneurship, pharmaceutical innovation, biomedical engineering, and AI-driven healthcare research. He assured continued policy focus on ethical AI governance, digital literacy, workforce training, and responsible innovation, along with expanded coverage under Ayushman Bharat and issuance of ABHA cards.

Mr. Debarshi Duttagupta, Chairman, ASSOCHAM Healthcare Council West Bengal, called for stronger industry-government collaboration. Dr. Sombrata Roy of CK Birla Hospital, Abanis Nayak of ASSOCHAM Odisha Startup Council, Arup Kumar Chatterjee, Deputy Drugs Controller (India) of CDSCO (EZ), Avijit Dhar of Primus Partners, Dr. Rupali Basu of HCG Cancer Hospitals, Darpan Roy Chowdhury of Strassenburg Pharmaceuticals, Avik Ghose of TCS and other experts engaged in vibrant deliberations on the theme.

The programme was coordinated under the leadership of Shri Ramit Sircar of ASSOCHAM, along with Team ASSOCHAM comprising Shri Kallol Ghosh, Smt Rita Sarkar and others. A knowledge report titled “AI in Healthcare – From Instinct to Inference” was also released.