ICMR’s AI-Powered Mental Healthcare Platform Wins Gold at National e-Governance Awards 2026
ICMR-MINDS recognised for leveraging AI to strengthen citizen-centric mental healthcare across seven states
Dr. Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, presents the Gold Award to the ICMR-MINDS team at the National Awards for e-Governance 2026, in the presence of Col. Rajyavardhan Rathore, Rajasthan's Minister for Information Technology & Communication, V. Srinivas, Chief Secretary, Government of Rajasthan, and Nivedita Shukla Verma, Secretary, DARPG.
New Delhi: The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has won the Gold Award at the National Awards for e-Governance 2026 for its flagship ICMR-MINDS initiative, an AI-enabled digital platform designed to strengthen mental healthcare delivery through frontline health workers.
The project received the top honour under Category 2 – Innovation by Use of AI and Other New Age Technologies for Providing Citizen-Centric Services, recognising its contribution to making quality mental healthcare more accessible, standardised and technology-driven.
The award, instituted by the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG) under the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, was presented during the 29th National Conference on e-Governance (NCeG) 2026, held in Jaipur on July 1-2.
The award was presented by Dr Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, in the presence of Col. Rajyavardhan Rathore, Minister for Information Technology and Communication, Government of Rajasthan, V. Srinivas, Chief Secretary, Government of Rajasthan, and Nivedita Shukla Verma, Secretary, DARPG.
AI Supporting Frontline Mental Healthcare
ICMR-MINDS is a National Health Research Priority project that integrates screening and management of mental and substance use disorders with other non-communicable diseases (NCDs).
At the heart of the initiative is an AI-enabled Clinical Decision Support System (CDSS) that empowers trained non-specialist healthcare workers to conduct standardised mental health screening, assessment, routine management and patient follow-up using evidence-based digital guidance.
The platform significantly reduces dependence on specialists by enabling task-sharing while maintaining quality and consistency in service delivery.
Designed for India’s Public Health System
The digital platform incorporates several features tailored to the needs of India’s healthcare system, including:
- AI-enabled Clinical Decision Support System (CDSS)
- Standardised digital screening and assessment workflows
- Role-based clinical guidance
- Offline functionality for low-connectivity areas
- Multilingual user interface
- Gamified features to improve user engagement
- Real-time administrative dashboards for programme monitoring
A key strength of the platform is its structured continuity-of-care framework, which enables seamless referral and back-referral between specialists and primary healthcare providers.
This allows stable patients to continue treatment at nearby health facilities while specialists focus on complex cases, improving treatment adherence, reducing patient dropouts and easing the burden on tertiary care institutions.
Implemented Across Seven States
The ICMR-MINDS programme is currently being implemented across seven states through collaborations with leading medical institutions:
- AIIMS Guwahati (Assam)
- Gujarat Institute of Mental Health, Ahmedabad (Gujarat)
- AIIMS New Delhi (Haryana programme)
- St. John’s Medical College, Bengaluru (Karnataka)
- AIIMS Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh)
- AIIMS Bhubaneswar (Odisha)
- PGIMER Chandigarh (Punjab)
The initiative is being implemented in partnership with State Health Departments, State Mental Health and Non-Communicable Disease (NCD) Programme teams, district health authorities and healthcare professionals.
Scaling Technology for Public Health
Reacting to the recognition, Dr Rajiv Bahl, Secretary, Department of Health Research and Director General, ICMR, said the organisation would continue developing data-driven and scalable digital health innovations to address complex public health challenges.
He said ICMR remains committed to working closely with state governments and partner institutions to deliver affordable, standardised and high-quality healthcare solutions powered by technology.
Advancing Digital Healthcare
The recognition of ICMR-MINDS underscores the growing role of Artificial Intelligence in India’s public healthcare ecosystem, particularly in addressing mental health challenges where specialist resources remain limited.
By enabling frontline healthcare workers with AI-assisted clinical decision support, the platform demonstrates how emerging technologies can expand access to quality healthcare, strengthen primary care delivery and improve health outcomes while supporting the objectives of the Digital India and National Digital Health Mission initiatives.
