THEBUSINESSBYTES BUREAU

NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 2, 2026

Robotics is set to emerge as an accelerating tool across every specialty of medicine, spanning diagnostics, treatment and therapy, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science and Technology and Earth Sciences and MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh, said on Friday.

Addressing the inaugural session of the International Conference of the Society of Robotic Surgery here, Singh, a physician and diabetologist, said the convergence of robotics with Artificial Intelligence (AI) and nanoscience would create a larger ecosystem for precision healthcare and personalised medicine.

 “It's a tool. It will happen everywhere,” he said, stressing that robotics should not be viewed merely as a technology restricted to surgery.

While the current focus is on robotic surgery, the future could see the emergence of robotic medicine, robotic endocrinology and robotic cardiology, Singh said, drawing parallels with the expanding application of AI across medical specialties.

He said medicine was entering an era of frontier practices, with AI, biotechnology, nuclear medicine and other technology-driven solutions increasingly shaping healthcare. The next phase, he said, would witness greater use of genetically driven diagnostics, quantum technologies, nanomedicine and robotics.

Singh emphasised that precision medicine would increasingly require treatments tailored to individual patients, even when they are diagnosed with the same disease. Genetic profile, environmental conditions, lifestyle and dietary patterns are likely to play a growing role in medical decision-making, he said.

Referring to the Genome India Programme, Singh said 10,000 individuals had already been sequenced and expressed the hope that India could eventually move towards gene sequencing for every newborn.

For a country of India's scale, he said, sequencing the genetic profile of a population of 1.4 billion would require the optimal use of technologies such as AI and robotics.

The minister also highlighted the potential of nanomedicine in addressing longstanding healthcare challenges. Referring to efforts towards developing oral insulin, he said advances at the nanoscale could help overcome some limitations of conventional drug delivery and open new possibilities for therapeutic interventions.

India's size, diversity and geographical spread make technologies such as AI, robotics and tele-robotics particularly relevant to healthcare delivery, Singh said.

Sharing his experience with robotic ultrasonography, he said he had performed an ultrasound on a person located around 10,000 kilometres away in Antarctica, illustrating the possibilities offered by remotely enabled medical technologies.

 “Instead of the patient being referred to the doctor, it will be the doctor being referred to the patient,” Singh said, describing the potential of tele-robotics to change the traditional model of specialist healthcare.

Such technologies could enable specialist expertise to reach patients across geographical boundaries, reducing the need for patients to travel long distances to access advanced medical capabilities, he said.

Singh also pointed to India's evolving disease profile, where infectious diseases coexist with metabolic and lifestyle-related disorders. Diseases traditionally associated with later stages of life are increasingly being seen among younger people, he said, underscoring the need for advanced technological tools alongside a more integrated and holistic approach to healthcare.

Given the scale and diversity of India's healthcare requirements, Singh said the adoption of emerging technologies would be particularly important. AI and robotics can serve as powerful facilitatory tools for healthcare delivery while supporting the country's transition towards precision and personalised medicine, he said.

Congratulating the organisers of SRS India 2026, Singh said the conference was helping bring robotic surgery into the domain of institutional learning, academics and professional platforms.

The adoption of emerging technologies such as robotics, he said, would be essential to keep pace with the rapidly evolving landscape of medical science.