India’s biggest Digital Health Innovation Challenge kicks off with DHN–IITI DRISHTI CPS Foundation MoU

Story ByNikita Saha

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3 months ago

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India’s biggest Digital Health Innovation Challenge kicks off with DHN–IITI DRISHTI CPS Foundation MoU

Drishti CPS Foundation shall offer incubation support, mentorship, and strategic investor access to the top startups emerging from the Challenge.

In a major move to catalyze health innovation in India, Digital Health News (DHN) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with IITI Drishti CPS Foundation, one of India’s Technology Translation Research Parks for Digital Healthcare, under the NM-ICPS Mission of DST, Govt. of India at IIT Indore, the premier academic institution in the Country, to co-launch the DHN HealthTech Innovation Challenge 2025.

This landmark partnership aims to provide India’s promising health tech startups with a launchpad to showcase, validate, and scale game-changing digital health solutions.

The collaboration was formalized recently to strengthen India’s digital health ecosystem by fostering next-generation ideas, accelerating product-market fit, and expanding access to critical stakeholders, including hospitals, investors, and policymakers.

As per the MoU, IITI Drishti CPS Foundation, shall be the official Incubation and Accelerator Partner.

Speaking on the occasion, Vishnu Saxena, Founder & CEO of DHN, said, ‘’At Digital Health News, we launched India’s most comprehensive HealthTech Innovation Challenge last year with an aim to identify and nurture best-of-breed digital health startups from every corner of the country that have the potential to solve India’s most pressing healthcare challenges. This year, we are incredibly excited to partner with IITI DRISHTI CPS Foundation to take that mission even further. IITI DRISHTI CPS Foundation brings deep technological expertise and a world-class incubation environment, which is essential to build, scale real-world solutions with national impact.’’

Drishti CPS Foundation shall offer incubation support, mentorship, and strategic investor access to the top startups emerging from the Challenge. A post-event joint Accelerator program is also in the pipeline, focused on enabling product pilots and scaling up impactful innovations.

Sharing his thoughts, Aditya Vyas, CEO, IITI DRISHTI CPS Foundation said, “DHN Innovation Challenge aligns with the national goal of accessible and affordable healthcare, which is possible only with the help of Digital Technologies. Bharat is leapfrogging through the Digital India Mission and enabling Digital Public Goods infrastructure; it is time to bring Digital Healthcare to the forefront to help every citizen of this country receive quality medical care close to his or her place. We are happy to partner with DHN for this initiative to take our Nation towards a Viksit Bharat.”

DHN HealthTech Innovation Challenge 2025

The DHN HealthTech Innovation Challenge 2025 invites mid-to-late-stage healthtech startups to submit real-world solutions built for India's unique care gaps.

Categories include AI for primary care, ABDM-integrated interoperability tools, scalable mental health platforms, and chronic care continuity models.

Confirmed jury members include Uma Nambiar, CEO of the IISC Medical School Foundation and Chairperson of DHI, and Dr. Feby Abraham, EVP and Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer of Memorial Hermann Health System in Houston, Texas; Vishnu Saxena, Founder and CEO, DHN and Scale Health Tech; Kumar KV, Group CIO, Narayana Health.

More jury names will be announced soon, spanning VCs, ABDM architects, hospital CIOs, and policy think tank leaders.

Last year’s edition saw over 200+ submissions, with 14 startups shortlisted and five finalists presenting live at Demo Day. This year, the stakes are even higher, with enhanced jury representation, real-world pilots, national visibility, and access to the DigitalHealthPlace.com marketplace.

“This is more than a collaboration- together, we are providing our transformers a ‘battery included’ ecosystem, enabling our startups to go mainstream- faster to the hospitals, faster to the patients, and faster to impact. I invite all our change makers, if you're building something exciting that could change lives, this is where you belong,” Mr. Saxena added.

Startups can apply via www.dhninnovation.com starting September 1, 2025. Applications close on September 30. Shortlisted teams will gain access to mentorship, ecosystem connects, co-branding, and investor introductions.