National Conference on Rare Diseases Inaugurated

On 5th May 2026, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare inaugurated a two-day National Conference on Rare Diseases to strengthen India’s response to rare diseases.

The conference brought together policymakers, researchers, clinicians, industry representatives and patient advocacy groups for discussions on diagnosis, treatment and innovation.
Addressing the inaugural session, the Union Health Secretary Punya Salila Srivastava emphasised the importance of innovation, early diagnosis and stronger stakeholder collaboration for improving patient outcomes.
She highlighted that India formally recognised rare diseases in the National Health Policy 2017, followed by the launch of the National Policy for Rare Diseases 2021.
The network of Centres of Excellence for rare diseases has expanded from 8 to 15 institutions, including two located in the Northeast.
Financial assistance for patients has been increased to ₹50 lakh, while certain life-saving drugs have been exempted from basic customs duty to reduce treatment costs.
The government is also conducting nationwide training programmes and workshops, alongside the use of digital platforms for monitoring and compliance.