GEMS OF INDIA

Individuals and institutions who have reshaped people's lives across remote geographies, stressed public infrastructure and fragile ecosystems

- By KAUSHIK DEKA

IN a state-run hospital in Nagaland’s Mon district, tuberculosis once followed a predictable path.

Patients came late, diagnosis took days or weeks and treatment often began after the disease had already taken root. The hospital did not even have a radiologist.

Things changed when a compact, battery-operated diagnostic system was installed. The device delivered results in 90 minutes, patients were screened and placed on treatment within a day. No one announced the change in status quo. The system simply began to work better than it had before.

The India Health Fund, which supported the deployment of that diagnostic tool in Nagaland, was the catalyst for this silent revolution. Founded in 2017 by Tata Trusts and shaped by Ratan Tata's belief that science and technology must serve neglected public health challenges, it identifies gaps within public healthcare systems and supports tools that make diagnosis faster, surveillance smarter and care more accessible.

It is individuals and institutions like India Health Fund that this Republic Day special issue of INDIA TODAY celebrates. These are the Gems of India, solving problems where they are the most entrenched and the outcomes uncertain.