IndiaAI–NCG Cancer AI & Technology Challenge (CATCH)

CATCH aims to fast-track the validation and deployment of AI solutions across the cancer care continuum in India. Through this unique public-health-tech partnership, the program seeks to unlock real-world impact by enabling AI-powered screening, diagnostics, treatment decision support, patient engagement, and hospital operations optimization across the NCG hospital network.

What is the CATCH Grant?

The Cancer AI & Technology Challenge (CATCH) is a competitive grant program that invites joint applications from healthcare technology innovators and clinical institutions to pilot and validate AI-based solutions addressing priority use cases in oncology.

Selected proposals will receive milestone-based pilot funding up to ₹50 lakhs, mentorship support, access to clinical validation sites, and the opportunity to scale across the NCG network and IndiaAI-supported public channels.

Why Cancer? Why Now?

India faces a mounting cancer burden, with late diagnoses, fragmented infrastructure, and unequal access to specialized care posing persistent challenges. While artificial intelligence has shown immense potential in advancing precision oncology globally, adoption in clinical practice remains low due to a lack of validation, contextualization, and real-world testing.

CATCH bridges this gap by pairing AI innovators with NCG’s vast clinical network and enabling real-world validation and deployment in Indian hospitals.

Innovation Tracks

Applicants can submit proposals under one of the following seven categories:

• Screening: AI tools for early cancer detection, including voice/image-based self-screening, community-deployable solutions, and low-resource tools.
• Diagnostics: AI for pathology and radiology support, multi-modal diagnosis, and report automation.
• Clinical Treatment: Decision support tools, personalized treatment planning, predictive analytics, and radiotherapy augmentation.
• Patient Engagement: Chatbots, mobile tools, remote monitoring, mental health support, and multi-lingual AI guidance.
• Research Enablement: AI for trial matching, remote phenotyping, and protocol design.
• Operational Efficiency: Smart scheduling, triage, documentation, billing, and administrative optimization.
• Data Curation: Tools for structured, interoperable, and anonymized data management for AI readiness and federated learning.

Program Benefits

Selected awardees will receive:

• Milestone-Based Grant Support:

Up to ₹50 lakhs per team, jointly funded by IndiaAI and NCG.

• Pilot and Scale-Up Pathways:

Solutions may be directly considered for national-level scale-up based on maturity and readiness.

• Clinical Validation Access:

Deployment support and ethics approvals via the NCG hospital network.

• National Visibility:

Featured on the IndiaAI and NCG digital platforms, with support for regulatory readiness and institutional buy-in.

• Future Expansion:

Successful pilots may become eligible for IndiaAI Scale-Up Grants of up to ₹1 crore for pan-India deployment.

Who Can Apply?

• Startups, healthtech firms, academic institutions, hospitals, and non-profits.
• Joint teams must consist of a Clinical Lead (NCG-affiliated or otherwise validated) and a Technology Lead.
• Proposals must be at or above TRL 5, with a clear implementation roadmap.
• Up to 10 proposals will be selected, subject to eligibility and evaluation benchmarks.

Key Dates

Launch of CATCH Grant - 2nd August 2025

Info Webinar - 21st August 2025

IndiaAI–NCG Cancer AI & Technology Challenge (CATCH) Information Webinar: Click to register

Last date to apply for IndiaAI-NCG CATCH is now extended to 22nd September 2025

Submission Guideline Document

Read the detailed document about the IndiaAI-NCG CATCH program here: Click here

Apply Now

Application Portal: Click here

All pre-submission queries must be emailed to fellow1.gpai-india@meity.gov.in and ncgkcdoceo@tmc.gov.in with a cc to sudheer.reddy@meity.gov.in using the subject line: