Ayush Ministry launches National Innovation Challenge to encourage use of AI in Ayurveda

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The All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA), New Delhi (under the Ministry of Ayush) recently celebrated the sixth foundation day of its incubation centre AIIA-iCAINE (The Incubation Centre for Ayurveda Innovation and Entrepreneurship). On this occasion, the National Innovation Challenge was launched to encourage the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the field of Ayurveda.

The challenge is being organised by TechFest, IIT Bombay in collaboration with the Ministry of Ayush and AIIA.

Using IIT Bombay's open - source Ayurveda Large Language Model, ' AyurParam', the initiative aims to encourage the development of reliable, transparent, secure, and practical AI solutions for Ayurveda.

The challenge will focus on challenges in areas such as Ayurvedic clinical practice, retrieving information from classical texts, research, treatment planning, and public health awareness. The grand finale of this national challenge will be held at IIT Bombay from December 15 to 18, 2026.

Also, two strategic memorandums of understanding (MoUs) were signed, the Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) facility for Ayurveda was launched and Capacity Building Workshop on Entrepreneurship and Design Thinking.

Under the agreement with the World Ayurveda Foundation (WAF) , ' AI in Ay – Secretariat for Artificial Intelligence in Ayurveda' will be established. This collaborative platform will help advance AI - based research, innovation, and entrepreneurship in Ayurveda. The agreement with Reliance Retail Limited (Pahadi Local) aims to transform classical Ayurvedic knowledge into commercially viable skin care products.