NEW DELHI: The centre is thinking about providing access to e-books and AI resources to medical students to help them hone their skills better, a senior Union Health ministry official said here Monday.
In the first phase, around 57 government medical colleges in smaller towns and rural areas will be covered, said B Srinivas, Deputy Director General (Medical Education) at the AI Impact Summit.
He added that students from medical colleges in remote areas find it challenging to access e-books and good technical materials, including AI material.
"So the government is thinking of using the leverage of AI to reach out to these students ... in the National Medical Library we have started the process of securing the e-books and the digital clinical material, and we are doing it right now in around 57 government medical colleges across the country," Srinivas said.
The government is looking to scale up the initiative in a gradual manner, he added.
"We are in the pipeline to also include the private medical colleges later on. But since the budget is coming from the government, we are right now concentrating only on the government institutions," he said.
Building campuses and infrastructure is very easy, but building up the knowledge material that takes time, he added.
The panelists in the session focussed on how responsible AI can advance health equity by improving access to trusted medical knowledge, clinical decision support, and workforce capacity.
The speakers also deliberated on bringing together policymakers, healthcare leaders, clinicians, and industry experts with a focus on trust, transparency, and governance in health AI.
The panel also explored how evidence-based, explainable AI systems can be deployed safely and at scale to strengthen health systems and improve outcomes, particularly in emerging and resource-constrained settings.