New Delhi: The government has called on researchers and innovators to develop technology-driven solutions to automate claims processing under Ayushman Bharat to reduce delays and improve efficiency under the country’s largest health insurance scheme.The National Health Authority (NHA) under the Union Health Ministry is organizing an Auto-Adjudication Hackathon aimed at building scalable tools to streamline how insurance claims are assessed and settled under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY).The move comes amid growing recognition that faster and more transparent claims processing is important to strengthen confidence in public health insurance schemes for both hospitals and beneficiaries.According to a public notice issued by the National Medical Commission (NMC), the hackathon will focus on developing automated systems that can handle large volumes of claims while ensuring accuracy and compliance.The initiative will culminate in a two-day offline event on May 8 and 9 at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, where the selected teams will present their solutions.Registrations for the hackathon are open from March 31 to April 13. “All medical colleges and institutions are advised to disseminate information about the hackathon among the stakeholders and encourage participation of researchers, innovators and professionals from academic and professional networks,” the National Medical Commission said in its notice.Experts say automating claims adjudication can significantly cut processing time, reduce manual errors and improve transparency – which are major challenges in large-scale health insurance programs.The event is expected to bring together policy makers, healthcare leaders, technology experts and startups. Senior officials including industry leaders like Dr. Sunil Kumar Baranwal, CEO of NHA and Dr. Devi Prasad Shetty are scheduled to participate in the inaugural session.On the second day, the discussion will focus on the future of claims adjudication, including the use of artificial intelligence in healthcare and the need for regulatory guardrails to ensure the safe deployment of such technologies.