• Techfest and IIT Bombay launch ‘AyushTech Innovate’ initiative; IPR facility for Ayurveda inaugurated and two MoUs signed
  • AIIA-iCAINE supported 52 problem statements, mentored over 100 startup ideas; nine startups received seed funding of ₹3 lakh each

The All India Ayurvedic Institute (AIIA), New Delhi celebrated the sixth foundation day of its incubation centre AIIA-iCAINE. On the occasion, a national innovation challenge was launched to promote the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in Ayurveda. Two strategic MoUs were also signed, an IPR facility for Ayurveda was inaugurated, and a capacity‑building workshop on entrepreneurship and design thinking was held.

Director Prof. (Vaidya) P.K. Prajapati of AIIA highlighted the incubator’s key achievements and initiatives, stating that AIIA-iCAINE is continuously working to promote innovation in Ayurveda, strengthen collaboration between industry and academic institutions, and translate Ayurvedic knowledge and research into practical solutions, products and enterprises.

He said, “In the past six years AIIA-iCAINE has undertaken several initiatives to encourage innovation and entrepreneurship in Ayurveda. The incubator has supported 52 problem statements and guided more than 100 startup ideas. Additionally, nine startups were provided seed funding of ₹3 lakh each, helping them advance their ventures.”

The flagship attraction was the launch of ‘AyushTech Innovate: National Open Ayurveda AI Challenge’, organised by Techfest, IIT Bombay in partnership with the Ministry of AYUSH and AIIA.

Using IIT Bombay’s open‑source AyurParam large language model, the initiative aims to encourage the development of reliable, transparent, safe and practical AI solutions for Ayurveda. The challenge will focus on challenges in clinical practice, extracting information from classical texts, research, treatment‑plan formulation and public health awareness. The grand finale of the national challenge will be held at IIT Bombay from 15 to 18 December 2026.

AIIA-iCAINE signed two strategic MoUs to strengthen research, innovation and commercialization in Ayurveda.

Under the MoU with the World Ayurveda Foundation (WAF), an ‘AI in Ay – Secretariat for Artificial Intelligence in Ayurveda’ will be established. The collaborative platform will support AI‑based research, innovation and entrepreneurship in Ayurveda, promoting joint research, funding and CSR proposals, capacity‑building programmes, hackathons and startup incubation, while leveraging WAF’s national and international networks for responsible AI use in Ayurveda.

The MoU with Reliance Retail Limited (Pahadi Local) aims to translate classical Ayurvedic knowledge into commercially viable skin‑care products, with formulation consultancy provided. Reliance Retail will handle product development, testing, manufacturing and marketing, paving the way for commercialization of Ayurveda‑based innovations and strengthening industry‑academia collaboration.

An IPR facility for Ayurveda was also inaugurated to raise awareness about intellectual‑property protection and help innovators and entrepreneurs understand the importance of safeguarding their innovations, encouraging protection of innovations moving towards product development and commercialization.

A capacity‑building workshop on branding, pricing strategies and design thinking for Ayurveda‑based enterprises was conducted as part of the foundation‑day celebrations.

Ms. Jessica of Reliance Retail delivered a masterclass on branding, while AIIA-iCAINE CEO Sujit Eranezhath led sessions on pricing strategies and design thinking. The sessions covered user‑needs assessment, problem identification, ideation, prototype development, testing and creation of practical, user‑centric solutions for the Ayurveda sector.

Other key activities included an information session on the Smart India Hackathon (SIH), the launch of the Techfest Hackathon, the release of ‘Ayupreneur: A Beginner’s Glossary’, and the disbursement of grant funds to the SIH 2025 winners.

The formal inauguration began with a welcome address by incubation head Dr. Arun Kumar Mahapatra, followed by remarks from chief guest Prof. (Dr.) Srinivas Prasad Buduru. The event was chaired by AIIA director Prof. (Vaidya) P.K. Prajapati and concluded with a vote of thanks by AIIA-iCAINE CEO Sujit Eranezhath and a networking session.

About AIIA-iCAINE

Established on 29 October 2021 under the direction of the Ministry of AYUSH, Government of India, AIIA-iCAINE is India’s first public‑sector Ayurveda business incubator. It aims to support the development of Ayurveda‑based products, services and enterprises through guidance, capacity building, institutional partnerships and industry engagement, and to promote innovation, startup incubation and entrepreneurship.