BHARAT: A New Blueprint for Healthy Ageing in India

In recent years, life expectancy has improved across the globe, including in India. However, living longer does not always mean living healthier. With increasing cases of age-related diseases like Parkinson’s and dementia, there is a growing need to understand how Indians age — not just in terms of years, but in terms of health and well-being.

To address this gap, the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, launched a groundbreaking research project in 2023 called BHARAT — short for Biomarkers of Healthy Aging, Resilience, Adversity, and Transitions. This study is part of the larger Longevity India Program.

Why BHARAT Is Needed

1. Lack of India-Specific Health Data

Most of the medical and diagnostic standards used today are based on data collected from Western populations. This means that health benchmarks like cholesterol levels, vitamin D, or inflammatory markers may not truly reflect what is normal or healthy for Indians. For example, many Indians are labelled as “deficient” in vitamin B12 or D even when they may not actually suffer from related health issues.

2. Misdiagnosis and Ineffective Treatments

When Western biomarkers are used as a universal standard, they can lead to:

• Misdiagnosis

• Inappropriate treatments

• Delayed identification of actual health risks in Indian individuals

This is especially dangerous when it comes to age-related illnesses that progress gradually and are difficult to treat in later stages.

BHARAT’s Vision: Establishing a Reliable Indian Health Baseline

What Is the Bharat Baseline?

The BHARAT study aims to build a large, national database of what “normal health” looks like for the Indian population. This baseline will be used to:

• Understand the biological signs of healthy ageing

• Recognize early signs of diseases

• Develop customized healthcare interventions for Indians

The goal is to ensure that India has its own scientific reference framework — the Bharat Baseline — just like countries in the West have.

What BHARAT Is Studying

Multiple Layers of Health Data

The BHARAT study is collecting a wide range of biological and environmental information, including:

• Genomic biomarkers: Gene-level indicators of disease risk or health
• Proteomic and metabolic markers: Insights into how the body’s systems are functioning
• Environmental factors: Pollution, nutrition, lifestyle habits
• Socio-economic data: Access to healthcare, education, and more

All this information will help scientists understand how Indians age — and why some people age more healthily than others.

How AI and Technology Power the Study

The Role of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Because the BHARAT study is dealing with massive and complex datasets, it uses AI and machine learning tools to:

• Combine and analyze different types of health data

• Detect patterns that may not be visible to human researchers

• Simulate possible outcomes of medical interventions before clinical trials

• Predict organ-level ageing even before disease symptoms appear

This high-tech approach helps scientists identify proactive markers of health — not just disease markers.

Challenges Along the Way

1. Collecting Diverse Samples

India is a genetically and culturally diverse country. To build a meaningful baseline, the study needs to collect samples from people of different regions, ages, diets, and lifestyles. Finding healthy volunteers, especially older adults, is one of the biggest challenges.

2. Funding and Long-Term Support

A study of this scale requires sustained government and philanthropic funding. Researchers also need help from health institutions, local communities, and even policy-makers to reach people across the country.

3. Making AI Work for India

AI tools must be trained using Indian-specific data. Otherwise, they risk repeating global biases that ignore local realities. BHARAT researchers are aware of this and are working to ensure their models reflect India’s unique health environment.

The Bigger Picture: Transforming Indian Healthcare

From Disease Treatment to Health Prediction

The BHARAT study aims to shift the focus of Indian healthcare from simply treating diseases to predicting and preventing them. By identifying signs of organ ageing before any symptoms appear, doctors can:

• Recommend early lifestyle changes
• Delay or prevent the onset of diseases
• Improve the quality of life for India’s growing elderly population

Customizing Medicine for India

With the insights from BHARAT, India can begin to develop personalized treatment protocols, nutrition plans, and even public health policies tailored to the Indian body and environment — rather than relying on one-size-fits-all global standards.