New Delhi: The All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA), New Delhi, has launched the National Ayurveda AI Challenge in collaboration with Techfest, IIT Bombay, along with signing two strategic Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs), launching an Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Facility for Ayurveda and conducting a capacity-building workshop on entrepreneurship and design thinking.
The National Ayurveda AI Challenge, titled AyushTech Innovate: National Open Ayurveda AI Challenge, has been organised by Techfest, IIT Bombay, in collaboration with the Ministry of Ayush and AIIA.
The challenge aims to encourage the development of trustworthy, transparent, safe and practical artificial intelligence (AI) solutions for Ayurveda.
The initiative leverages AyurParam, IIT Bombay’s open-source Ayurveda Large Language Model.
The National Ayurveda AI Challenge will focus on addressing challenges across Ayurvedic clinical practice, classical text retrieval, research, treatment planning and public health awareness.
The national grand finale of the National Ayurveda AI Challenge is scheduled to take place at IIT Bombay from December 15 to 18, 2026.
On the occasion, Prof. Vd. P. K. Prajapati, Director, AIIA, highlighted the continued efforts of the AIIA-iCAINE incubator to promote innovation, strengthen industry–academia collaboration and translate Ayurvedic knowledge and research into practical solutions, products and enterprises.
“Over the past six years, AIIA-iCAINE has undertaken several initiatives to promote innovation and entrepreneurship in Ayurveda. The incubator has supported 52 problem statements and mentored more than 100 startup ideas.
Furthermore, nine startups have received seed support of ₹3 lakh each, helping them advance their entrepreneurial journeys,” he said.
AIIA-iCAINE Signs Two Strategic MoUs
AIIA-iCAINE signed two strategic MoUs aimed at strengthening research, innovation and commercialisation in Ayurveda.
The MoU with the World Ayurveda Foundation (WAF) will facilitate the establishment of “AI in Ay – Secretariat for Artificial Intelligence in Ayurveda”, a collaborative platform aimed at advancing AI-driven research, innovation and entrepreneurship.
The collaboration will support joint research, funding and CSR proposals, capacity-building programmes, hackathons and startup incubation. It will also leverage the World Ayurveda Foundation’s national and international networks to promote responsible AI applications in Ayurveda.
The second MoU, signed with Reliance Retail Limited (Pahadi Local), will facilitate the translation of classical Ayurvedic knowledge into commercially viable skincare products through formulation advisory.
Under the collaboration, Reliance Retail will undertake product development, testing, manufacturing and marketing. The partnership is intended to create a pathway for the commercialisation of Ayurveda-based innovations and strengthen industry–academia collaboration.
The National Ayurveda AI Challenge and the two MoUs form part of a broader set of initiatives undertaken to promote innovation, entrepreneurship and the application of technology in the Ayurveda sector.
IPR Facility for Ayurveda Launched
Another key development was the launch of the Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Facility for Ayurveda.
The facility aims to promote awareness about intellectual property protection and help Ayurveda innovators and entrepreneurs understand the importance of safeguarding their innovations as they move towards product development and commercialisation.
The National Ayurveda AI Challenge launch and IPR Facility were among the key initiatives unveiled as part of the Foundation Day activities of AIIA-iCAINE.
Entrepreneurship and Design Thinking Workshop
The Foundation Day programme also included a capacity-building workshop focused on branding, pricing strategies and design thinking for Ayurveda ventures.
Ms Jessica of Reliance Retail Limited conducted the masterclass on branding, while Sujith Eranezhath, CEO, AIIA-iCAINE, led sessions on pricing strategies and design thinking.
The sessions covered user needs assessment, problem identification, ideation, prototyping, testing and the development of practical, user-centred solutions for the Ayurveda sector.
Other highlights included a briefing on the Smart India Hackathon (SIH), the launch of the Techfest Hackathon, the release of Ayupreneur: A Beginner’s Glossary and the release of grants to the SIH 2025 winners.
The official programme began with a welcome address by Dr Arun Kumar Mahaptra, Head of Incubation. The programme featured an address by Prof. (Dr.) Sreenivasa Prasad Buduru, Chief Guest, followed by the presidential address by Prof. Vd. P. K. Prajapati, Director, AIIA.
The celebration concluded with a vote of thanks by Sujith Eranezhath, CEO, AIIA-iCAINE, followed by networking.
AIIA-iCAINE’s Role in Ayurveda Innovation
Established on October 29, 2021, under the mandate of the Ministry of Ayush, Government of India, AIIA-iCAINE is recognised as India’s first public-sector Ayurveda business incubator.
The incubator works to promote innovation, startup incubation and entrepreneurship by supporting the development of Ayurveda-based products, services and enterprises through mentorship, capacity building, institutional partnerships and industry engagement.
The National Ayurveda AI Challenge, along with the new IPR Facility, industry–academia collaborations and entrepreneurship initiatives, is part of AIIA-iCAINE’s efforts to support innovation and entrepreneurship in Ayurveda.
