Mittal Institute, Harvard University - New Delhi

Accountable systems are built on transparency, strong institutions, and the ability to learn from data.

Reform Action 5 focuses on strengthening governance across the health system by decentralising decision-making, building robust data systems for evidence-driven policy, and reforming provider education to ensure ethical, competent care. It also calls for tighter regulation of drug quality and a concerted effort to curb irrational prescriptions.

As health systems grow more complex, governance becomes the foundation that ensures quality, equity, and trust.

Read the report from The Lancet Commission on a Citizen Centred Health System for India (published January 21, 2026) for the full set of recommendations: https://bit.ly/4b5tCr1

Technology can expand access when designed to be equitable, secure, and responsive to people’s needs.

Reform Action 4 focuses on leveraging technology to advance universal health coverage, by scaling appropriate solutions across the system, ensuring they are user-centric and privacy-protecting, and investing in innovations that strengthen prevention, diagnosis, and citizen-centred care.

As digital health systems evolve, the priority is not just adoption, but alignment, so that technology meaningfully improves outcomes and reduces inequities.

For a deeper discussion on scaling technologies for , watch the panel from the launch event: https://bit.ly/LCClaunch

Join us for a webinar on "Heart of a Nation: Disease and Medicine in Modern India," with Kavita Sivaramakrishnan, Associate Professor of Sociomedical Sciences at Columbia University, and David Shumway Jones, A. Bernard Ackerman Professor of the Culture of Medicine at Harvard University. The discussion will trace how cardiac care evolved alongside India’s post-independence development, shaped by global science, political priorities, and economic transitions.

📅 Wednesday, May 13, 2026
⏰ 5:30–6:30 pm IST / 8:00–9:00 am EST
📍 Online on Zoom
🔗 Register here: https://bit.ly/4cH4ur1

The session will also examine the rise of corporate healthcare, persistent access gaps, and the balance between treatment and prevention in addressing non-communicable diseases.

A well-aligned private sector can expand access while strengthening accountability and quality of care.

Reform Action 3 focuses on aligning private sector engagement with the goals of universal health coverage. This includes moving toward more integrated and coordinated care pathways, reforming voluntary insurance to reduce out-of-pocket expenditure, and strengthening regulatory frameworks to ensure private provision serves broader public health priorities.

As India’s health system evolves, the challenge is not just expanding access—but ensuring that all actors contribute to equitable, high-quality care.

For deeper discussion on engaging the private sector to align with goals watch the full event recording: https://bit.ly/LCClaunch

Leadership is not taught in theory, it is built in practice.

The Program for Scientifically-Inspired Leadership (PSIL),launched in 2019 with a Mittal Institute grant, held its second cohort in Goa this year, bringing to life the idea of leadership in practice by connecting teaching, leadership, and community engagement. Each year, the program brings together Harvard undergraduates, local college students, and underprivileged high school students in India for a week-long program that delivers a comprehensive liberal arts and science curriculum and extracurricular activities.

What is emerging is not just a cohort-based intervention, but a growing ecosystem, where Instructor Fellows transition into teaching roles, and trained educators carry these approaches back into government school classrooms.

As PSIL continues to deepen its partnerships and expand its footprint, it offers a model for how leadership, pedagogy, and systems thinking can come together in practice.

Read more: https://bit.ly/48UTC6o

The first quarter of 2026 reflected a continued commitment to convening research, policy, and practice across South Asia. Highlights included the launch of The Lancet Commission on a Citizen-Centred Health System for India report at India Habitat Centre, New Delhi, which brought together over 200 scholars and public health practitioners to engage with evidence-based pathways for health system reform.

The India office also welcomed the 2025–2026 cohort of Mittal Institute India Fellows, alongside visits from faculty, researchers, and partners spanning disciplines, from art and architecture to business and public policy. The bi-annual meeting of the Regional Advisory Council further strengthened institutional dialogue and strategic direction.

Through convenings such as the webinar on “Rethinking Nutrition and Food Systems for Planetary Health in South Asia,” and continued engagement with academic and practitioner communities, the quarter underscored the Institute’s role as a platform for interdisciplinary exchange and collaboration.

Here’s a look back at a quarter shaped by rigorous dialogue, global partnerships, and a shared commitment to advancing research and impact!

“Financing and delivery systems shape whether care is accessible, coordinated, and truly centred on people.”

Reform Action 2 focuses on the structural shifts needed to deliver a citizen-centred health system, through stronger public financing, more efficient spending, and smarter purchasing models. It calls for integrated delivery systems anchored in primary health care, supported by strengthened secondary care and aligned provider incentives to ensure quality and continuity.

Under the theme of of “Together for health. Stand with science” this agenda underscores the importance of translating evidence into action. Building systems that are both scientifically grounded and operationally effective will be central to advancing equitable health outcomes.

Read the report from The Lancet Commission on a Citizen-Centred Health System for India (published January 21, 2026) for the full set of recommendations: https://bit.ly/4b5tCr1 (link in bio!)

“Health systems work best when people are not just served, but heard.”

The Commission's Reform Action 1 calls for building health systems on meaningful citizen participation. This includes investing in local governance and civil society, while ensuring people have access to clear information on entitlements, system performance, and pathways to care.

It also emphasises embedding citizen voice in decision-making and strengthening grievance redressal, including citizen-led accountability mechanisms.

At its core, this is about addressing inequities by prioritising the most vulnerable, integrating social services, and tackling discrimination within care systems.

More reform recommendations from The Lancet Commission on a Citizen-Centred Health System for India (published January 21, 2026) can be found here: https://bit.ly/4b5tCr1 (link in bio!)

We’re excited to introduce Aditya K. Anand ( ), one of our Mittal Institute India Fellows for 2025-2026!

Aditya is being mentored by S. V. Subramanian, Professor of Population Health and Geography in the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. His project titled, “Integrated Climate-Responsive Multi-Hazard and Livelihood Resilience Assessment in the Bhilangana River Basin, Garhwal Himalayas,” examines how climate change is reshaping multi-hazard risks and livelihood vulnerability in the Bhilangana River Basin. His study analyzes long-term climate trends and extremes using downscaled CMIP6 models and maps landslides, flash floods, and cascading hazards through geospatial and machine-learning techniques.

Check out his QnA with the Institute: link in bio!

We’re excited to introduce Robert Lunkhopao Haokip, one of our Mittal Institute India Fellows for 2025-2026!

Robert is working with Sugata Bose, Gardiner Professor of Oceanic History and Affairs, Department of History, Harvard University. His project titled, “The North-East Frontier in the Second World War: Empires and experiences at the Imperial margins, 1942-1945,” explores how global events such as the Second World War was experienced at the empire’s margin. Focusing on the British Assam-Burma borderlands, the study looks at the ways in which local societies encountered and responded to the war.

Check out his QnA with the Institute: link in bio!