Indian public health data sources for AI and research
HMIS, NFHS-5, the Indian Food Composition Tables, the ABDM sandbox and data.gov.in: what each offers, how to access it, and its limits.
- India
Key takeaways
- HMIS publishes monthly district and sub-district health indicators on data.gov.in, now also through an API.
- NFHS-5 (2019–21) gives district-level estimates on maternal, child and women's health.
- The Indian Food Composition Tables 2017 from ICMR-NIN are the reference for Indian food nutrient values.
- The ABDM sandbox is an integration test environment for health apps, not a dataset.
- HMIS data has known completeness and accuracy concerns; validate before using it to train or evaluate models.
What Indian public health data is available?
| Source | What it contains | Access | Good for |
|---|---|---|---|
| HMIS | Monthly facility-reported indicators by district and sub-district | data.gov.in, with an API | Service use trends, maternal and child health programmes |
| NFHS-5 (2019–21) | National household survey with district estimates | Free registration via the DHS Program | Women’s and child health context, targeting |
| IFCT 2017 | Nutrient values for Indian foods, from ICMR-NIN | Published tables | Nutrition and meal-logging apps |
| ABDM sandbox | Test environment for Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission integrations | On request, under sandbox guidelines | Building health record and consent integrations |
| data.gov.in | Government open data catalogue | Open | Supporting indicators and geography |
How reliable is HMIS data?
It is the most granular public view of India’s health services, but analysts have long raised concerns about completeness and accuracy. Cross-check against NFHS estimates, look for reporting gaps by facility, and avoid treating HMIS as ground truth for model evaluation.
What is the ABDM sandbox for?
It lets health-tech companies integrate with ABDM building blocks such as health IDs, registries and consent flows, before going live after approval and a security audit. It is a developer environment, not a source of health data.
How should AI teams use these sources?
Use surveys and indicators for context, prioritisation and fairness checks across regions. Use IFCT for nutrition logic. Build and test with synthetic records, and use real patient data only with consent, ethics approval and DPDP-compliant handling.
Frequently asked questions
Is there open patient-level health data in India?
Not openly. Public sources are aggregated indicators and surveys. Patient-level data requires partnerships, ethics approval and, from 13 May 2027, DPDP-compliant consent. Synthetic data is a safer place to start building.
Which source is best for a nutrition app in India?
The Indian Food Composition Tables 2017 from ICMR-NIN for nutrient values of Indian foods, combined with your own recipe data for cooked dishes and portion sizes.
Sources
- Open health data in India: finally a realityObserver Research Foundation
- Health Management Information System (HMIS)India Data Portal
- ABDM sandbox guidelinesNational Health Authority
- Indian Food Composition Tables 2017ICMR-National Institute of Nutrition · 2017
- India National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5)The DHS Program
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