17 - 08 - 2026

IISc’s New Initiative Puts Healthy Aging at the Centre of India’s Healthcare Debate

India’s rapidly changing demographic and metabolic health landscape is placing longevity and healthy aging firmly on the national scientific agenda, with researchers, clinicians, technology leaders and policymakers gathering at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) to explore how the country can help its population live longer, healthier and more productive lives.

The Longevity India Initiative at IISc hosted the second edition of RISE for Healthy Aging, its flagship conference on longevity and healthy aging, at the JN Tata Auditorium on August 6 and 7. The two-day gathering brought together nearly 800 participants and close to 60 speakers from India and abroad, positioning India as an emerging contributor to the global science of aging.

This year’s conference placed metabolic health and aging at the centre of discussions, reflecting growing concern over metabolic disorders and their long-term implications for healthy aging.

“This year, we picked metabolic aging as a central theme. Everyone is talking about GLP-1 drugs and what peptides are doing in this space, and we felt that it was important to bring metabolism to the forefront. As a country, we are going through a large-scale metabolic health epidemic, and we need unique Indian solutions to manage this crisis,” said Prashanth Prakash, Founding Patron, Longevity India Initiative.

The conference opened with a call for a fundamental rethink of healthcare. Dr M Srinivas, Member, NITI Aayog and former Director of AIIMS, New Delhi, emphasised the need to move beyond a predominantly disease-treatment model towards prevention, early intervention and maintaining health throughout the lifespan.

A recurring theme at RISE 2026 was the importance of generating aging research based on Indian populations rather than relying predominantly on datasets and biological assumptions developed from Western populations.

Sessions highlighted national initiatives such as the BHARAT Study, which could contribute to identifying biological signatures of aging that are specific to Indian populations. Researchers also discussed advances in proteomics, high-resolution mass spectrometry and next-generation diagnostics that are creating new possibilities for measuring and understanding biological aging.

The scientific programme covered a wide spectrum, moving from fundamental biology to translational research. Discussions examined cellular metabolism, genetics of aging, neurodegeneration, the gut microbiome, diagnostics, nutrition, reproductive health and the economics of aging.

The intersection between aging, metabolism, reproduction and lifestyle also received considerable attention, with sessions examining menopause, gestational weight gain, metabolic disorders and interventions across different stages of life.

Planning for an aging India

The demographic implications of longevity were central to a panel on developing a National Geroscience Roadmap for India, featuring Prashanth Prakash, Dr Kris Gopalakrishnan, Dr Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw and Dr Ravindranath Kancherla.

While India remains one of the world’s youngest major economies, the country’s population is expected to age substantially in the coming decades.

“India is a very young country today, but it is aging—we’re going to have 300 million people over the age of 60 by 2045. That’s why this symposium on longevity is so important: we need to start looking at India not just as a young country, but as a country that will soon start aging. Before that happens, we need to plan for healthspan, not just lifespan, so our people stay productive and healthy as they age,” said Dr Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Patron, Longevity India Initiative.

Dr Kris Gopalakrishnan stressed the opportunity for India to establish global leadership in longevity research.

“My vision is that India must lead in longevity globally. We represent 20% of the world’s population, and I hope initiatives like Longevity India at IISc can build the leadership necessary—it will help our own people, and it will help the rest of the world,” he said.

For healthcare providers, the emerging field represents a fundamental change in how health systems think about aging.

“This is a very interesting conference because it represents a new science—geroscience, or longevity science. Until now, hospitals have largely been built to treat sick patients. This is a completely different paradigm: how do we optimise people’s health so that they live longer and healthier?” said Dr Ravindranath Kancherla, Founder, Global Hospitals.

RISE 2026 was preceded by the Aging Biology and Regenerative Medicine Symposium on August 5 at IISc’s Division of Biological Sciences. The symposium brought researchers together to present developments in aging biology and regenerative medicine before the discussions expanded into clinical, technological and policy dimensions at RISE.

The Longevity India Initiative also partnered with Cure Trust to host TREAT-DM, a clinically focused diabetes conference on August 8 and 9. Together, the events created a four-day programme connecting fundamental aging research with metabolic disease and clinical practice.

The larger objective of the Longevity India Initiative, anchored at IISc, is to create a national hub for research, discovery and technology development focused on healthy aging.

As India prepares for a significant demographic transition, the discussions at RISE 2026 underline a growing scientific consensus that longevity cannot be measured simply by the number of years people live. The more consequential question is how many of those years can be lived in good health, with independence, productivity and quality of life.