Monday, March 23, 2026: The GARBH-INi initiative, aimed at developing AI-driven solutions to address preterm births, a leading cause of neonatal mortality and adult morbidity has shown remarkable progress. Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science & Technology, Earth Sciences, and PMO Affairs, Dr. Jitendra Singh, today highlighted India’s largest pregnancy cohort study of 12,000 women to develop AI-driven solutions for preterm births.
Speaking at the “Disseminating Learnings and Outcomes of “GARBH-INi” programme at India Habitat Centre, New Delhi, Dr. Singh emphasized that the initiative represents a comprehensive, data-driven approach integrating clinical epidemiology, multi-omics biomarkers, and artificial intelligence to deliver personalized predictions for maternal and child health.
The event was attended by top officials including Dr. Rajesh S. Gokhale, Secretary, Biotechnology; Dr. V.K. Paul, Member, NITI Aayog; Dr. Ganesan Karthikeyan, Executive Director, THSTI; along with leading scientists and researchers.
The Minister said that the programme has successfully enrolled around 12,000 pregnant women, making it one of South Asia’s largest pregnancy cohorts. The initiative has generated a vast repository of over 1.6 million biospecimens and more than one million ultrasound images, forming a rich foundation for advanced research.
Dr. Singh added that the outcomes of GARBH-INi study include the development of AI-based pregnancy dating models, identification of microbiome-based predictors of preterm birth, rapid diagnostic tools, and genetic markers for early risk assessment—solutions tailored specifically for Indian populations.
GARBH-INi Advancing Maternal and Child Health Through Science Through AI Research
During the event, Dr. Singh released a compendium documenting key learnings and outcomes of the programme. He also highlighted the national biorepository and the GARBH-INi-DRISHTI data-sharing platform, enabling wider access for researchers and contributing to global scientific publications.
Several key partnerships and technology transfer initiatives were formalized, including microbiome-based biotherapeutics technology transfer to Sundyota Numandis Probioceuticals Pvt. Ltd., and Letters of Intent with DOTO Health Pvt. Ltd. and Qure.ai Technologies Pvt. Ltd. for AI-enabled ultrasound reporting and risk stratification platforms under the GARBH-INi-Anandi Maa initiative. Participating families were felicitated for their contribution to scientific research.
Dr. Singh stressed that maternal and child health is central to India’s future growth, saying, “The children born today will define the country’s strength and productivity in 2047.” He noted that biotechnology, a key driver of India’s bioeconomy growth from $10 billion in 2014 to $195 billion today, is being recognized globally for innovations in preventive and primary healthcare.
Dr. V.K. Paul, Member, NITI Aayog, urged that the next phase should focus on leveraging predictive tools and platforms developed so far, advocating for continued scientific efforts, stronger collaborations, and deeper analysis of outcomes to enhance impact.
Concluding, Dr. Singh said that initiatives like GARBH-INi are shaping a healthier, more productive generation and laying the foundation for a developed India by 2047.
