IndiaAI, the national Artificial Intelligence initiative under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of AYUSH to accelerate the adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) across India’s traditional healthcare ecosystem. The partnership aims to integrate AI into research, education, clinical practice and innovation while strengthening evidence based development of AYUSH systems through secure and responsible use of digital technologies. The collaboration also seeks to position India as a global leader in AI-enabled traditional medicine.

Under the MoU, the Ministry of AYUSH will contribute validated health research datasets, scientific publications, traditional medicine knowledge resources and other digital artefacts to AIKosh, India’s sovereign AI repository developed under the IndiaAI Mission. The enriched repository will support researchers, startups, academic institutions and innovators in developing AI-powered solutions for disease prediction, clinical decision support, personalised wellness, medicinal plant research and digital health applications while ensuring ethical AI development and data governance.

The collaboration also focuses on promoting AI-driven research in Ayurveda, Yoga, Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH) by encouraging interdisciplinary innovation between healthcare professionals, AI researchers and technology developers. Officials said the initiative will facilitate the creation of indigenous AI models trained on high-quality Indian healthcare datasets, enabling the development of responsible and culturally relevant AI solutions for preventive, promotive and integrative healthcare.

The partnership aligns with the Government of India’s broader IndiaAI Mission, approved with an outlay of ₹10,371.92 crore, to establish a robust AI ecosystem through computing infrastructure, datasets, innovation funding, skilling and startup support. Simultaneously, the AYUSH sector continues to witness rapid expansion, with the Indian AYUSH market projected to exceed US$70 billion by 2030, driven by increasing global demand for traditional medicine, preventive healthcare and wellness services. Integrating AI into AYUSH is expected to accelerate scientific validation, improve clinical outcomes and expand digital access to traditional healthcare services.

Healthcare and technology experts have welcomed the MoU as a significant milestone in India’s digital health journey. By combining the capabilities of IndiaAI with the knowledge ecosystem of the Ministry of AYUSH, the partnership is expected to foster cutting-edge research, strengthen evidence-based traditional medicine and support the development of secure, ethical and AI-powered healthcare solutions. The initiative also reinforces India’s vision of becoming a global leader in both artificial intelligence and traditional healthcare innovation.