All India Institute of Ayurveda launches ‘Ayush Start-up Challenge’

New Delhi, Feb 23: The All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA) in association with Startup India has launched the ‘Ayush Start-up Challenge’ to encourage start-ups and individuals working on innovations in the field of Ayurveda and alternative healing. The winners of ‘Ayush Start-up Challenge’ will receive both a cash prize and incubation support from the AIIA.

 

The Ayush market is currently estimated to be around $10 bn and it is projected to see a 50 percent increase over the course of the next five years, said a statement issued by the AIIA Tuesday.

 

 

Dr Tanuja Manoj Nesari, Director, AIIA said, “We are building the AIIA as an institution of eminence under the guidance of the Ministry of Ayush with three key wings of medical science under one roof – academics, scientific research and clinical practice. To fully realize the potential of the Ayush science, we need a thriving ecosystem with players operating across the entire value chain."

 

 

Further, he added, "This is where start-ups can play an important role in developing new solutions. The present initiative aims to not just identify promising start-ups and reward them, but also provide them incubation support through guidance and skill development which will go a long way in helping these start-ups realize their next phase of growth.”

 

 

Both early-stage start-ups, as well as individuals as a group, can participate in the ‘Ayush Start-up Challenge’. There are three entry categories for participating start-ups – Ayush Food Innovations, Ayush Bio-instrumentation (Hardware solutions) and Ayush IT Solutions (Software solutions). The winner in each category will receive a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh and the runner-up will get Rs 50,000.