The inaugural Indian Chest Congress 2026, the annual national conference of the Society for Pulmonology, Interventions, Critical Care and Sleep (SPICE India), began at the IIT Madras Research Park on Saturday.Held on August 29 and 30 under the theme ‘Precision Pulmonology for a Resilient India’, the conference organised in association with Kauvery Hospitals, brings together pulmonologists, respiratory physicians, interventional pulmonologists, intensivists, sleep specialists and researchers to discuss key challenges and advances in respiratory care.Emerging areas such as Artificial Intelligence, digital health, precision medicine, advanced bronchoscopy, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), and lung transplantation are among the topics being discussed. The conference also features hands-on workshops on respiratory procedures.Tamil Nadu Minister for Rural Development and Water Resources N. Anand, who inaugurated the conference, stressed the need for prevention and early detection of respiratory diseases, particularly in rural areas.Darez Ahamed, Secretary, Health, Medical Education and Family Welfare, stressed the need for collaboration between the government and private sector to strengthen disease surveillance, early detection and respiratory care in medical colleges and district hospitals.Koushik Muthu Raja Mathivanan, Organising Secretary, Indian Chest Congress 2026, and President, SPICE India, said the conference sought to bridge advances in respiratory medicine with the needs of patients in India, particularly in the context of the country’s continuing burden of tuberculosis, air pollution and COPD. Published - August 30, 2026 04:44 am IST