The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) has been awarded the Best Education Institute Exhibit of the Year for its innovative AI-based oral cancer screening tool – Aarogya Aarohan at the India Mobile Congress (IMC) 2025, held from 8 to 11 October 2025 at Yashobhoomi, New Delhi. The award was presented by Dr. Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani, Minister of State for Rural Development and Communications, Govt. of India.
Developed by IISc’s AI Centre of Excellence – TANUH (Translational Artificial Intelligence for Networked Universal Health Care) in collaboration with ARTPARK and Triveous, Aarogya Aarohan (AA) is a point-of-care, AI-empowered, white-light, mobile phone–based tool for the early detection of oral potentially malignant disorders (OPMD) and oral cancers. The project was funded by the Ministry of Education (MoE) Government of India, under the AI Centres of Excellence Programme; I-Hub for Robotics and Autonomous Systems Innovation Foundation (ARTPARK); the Cisco-IISc Centre for Networked Intelligence; and the Kotak-IISc AI ML Centre, and supported by the Central Project Monitoring Unit (CPMU), IIT Jammu.
Oral cancer is a major public health concern in India, accounting for about one-third of all cancers in the country and a similar proportion globally. Over 140,000 new cases and 80,000 deaths occur annually in India. Although oral visual examination is an effective screening method, more than 70% of oral cancers are diagnosed at advanced stages, largely due to poor access to specialists, especially in rural and primary care settings. IISc’s Aarogya Aarohan uses oral images captured in white-light on a mobile phone to instantly classify lesions as suspicious (that requires referral to a dentist) or non-suspicious, even in offline conditions. This enables immediate counselling and referral, reducing loss to follow-up – a persistent gap in cancer screening pathways. Designed to be mobile-first, offline-first, AI-powered, and edge-deployed, IISc’s Aarogya Aarohan is the only tool of its kind globally that provides instant results at the point of care. The team has received a test licence from the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) and is in the process of obtaining a marketing licence.
In the telemedicine-based Phase 1 implementation phase, the imaging-based version of Aarogya Aarohan (without AI) screened nearly 30,000 high-risk individuals in one year. Key partners in the development of the tool are Biocon Foundation, K.L.E.S’ Institute of Dental Sciences, BITS Pilani Goa campus and others. The tool has been field validated across nine sites in India, including All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi and National Cancer Institute (NCI), Jhajjar; Cachar Cancer Hospital and Research Centre, Silchar, Assam; Dr. Bhubaneswar Borooah Cancer Institute, Guwahati, Assam; Mahamana Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya Cancer Centre (MPMMCC), Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh; K.L.E.S’ Institute of Dental Sciences, Bangalore, Karnataka; Mazumdar Shaw Medical Foundation and Mazumdar Shaw Medical Center, Narayana Health City, Bangalore, Karnataka; Goa Dental College and Hospital, Bambolim, Goa and the primary Health Centres in Krishnagiri and Thanjavur districts under the Department of Public Health, Tamil Nadu. In Phase 2, the AI-enabled tool will be implemented across five districts in India’s public health system. If found feasible, it will be integrated into the National Programme for Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases (NP-NCD) and made available as a digital public good.
By combining scientific innovation with accessibility and public health relevance, IISc’s Aarogya Aarohan represents a significant step towards early oral cancer detection and equitable digital health access in India.
About IMC: IMC is Asia’s leading telecom, media, and technology forum, jointly organised by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI). The 2025 edition, aligned with the World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly (WTSA’24), focused on the theme “The Future is Now.” The award recognises IISc’s pioneering contribution in applying artificial intelligence to address major public health challenges through scalable and affordable digital health innovatio
