Indigenous AI model ‘BiltIQ’ has once again proved that Indian engineering can stand on the global stage. On Saturday, at the ‘Auto-Adjudication Hackathon 2026’ hosted at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, the system built by Jamshedpur’s Harish Kumar beat dozens of teams from across the country to take first place.
For this landmark win the team received a ₹5 lakh cash prize. Alongside the prize, the path was cleared for a future ₹50 lakh contract with the National Health Authority (NHA).
Senior officials offered high praise
At the felicitation ceremony held on Saturday, two senior officials openly praised Harish Kumar’s model:
| Official | Role | Reaction |
|---|---|---|
| Dr. Sunil Kumar Barnwal | CEO, National Health Authority (NHA) | Praised the model strongly |
| Abhishek Singh | Director General, National Testing Agency (NTA) | Lauded the technology's capability |
A target of solving 10 crore claims a year
Current challenge
- Around 60,000 Ayushman Bharat claims are filed every day
- Roughly 2 crore people avail health benefits each year
- Manually reviewing every document at this scale is exhausting work — and the margin for error stays high
- Claims currently take several days to clear
New target with BiltIQ AI
- The government now plans to scale processing capacity to 10 crore claims per year using this AI
- 5x growth — from today's 2 crore directly to 10 crore claims
- A clamp on fraudulent claims — and full system-wide transparency
- Genuine patients get paid faster
What is auto-adjudication, and how will BiltIQ work?
Auto-Adjudication simply means the automatic review and settlement of any medical claim, without human intervention.
- Analyses medical bills, discharge summaries and radiology reports in 60 seconds
- Every decision cites page numbers as evidence (Citation)
- Privacy-first architecture — patient data never leaves the hospital or institution
- Data sovereignty — all data stays in India
A revolutionary step for the National Health Mission
This success is not just a hackathon win — it is a milestone on the road to Digital Health India. Ayushman Bharat — the world’s largest government-run health insurance scheme — will now use indigenous AI technology.
- Transparency:Trackable audit on every claim
- Speed:What took days now finishes in seconds
- Cost savings:Manual workload drops sharply
- Fraud control:Fake bills and duplicate claims get caught
- Accuracy:No room for human error
- Reach:Faster benefits even for patients in remote areas
The hackathon’s challenge and the win
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Host | Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru |
| Partner | National Health Authority (NHA) |
| Participants | Hand-picked tech teams from across the country |
| Theme | Ayushman Bharat claim-processing automation |
| Winner | Team BiltIQ (Aarna Tech Consultants) |
| Prize money | ₹5 lakh |
| Additional benefit | ₹50 lakh contract with NHA |
A golden moment in Harish Kumar’s journey
From Kadma in Jamshedpur to the national capital and now to Bengaluru — Harish Kumar’s BiltIQ AI continues to make headlines:
- 12 FEB 2026First major coverage in Prabhat Khabar
- 16–20 FEB 2026Live demo at the AI Impact Summit, Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi
- NOWNational hackathon win at IISc Bengaluru and the NHA contract
A model built at a cost of ₹50 lakh has now landed a ₹50 lakh contract too — a fitting one-to-one.
Expert opinion
“India needs exactly this kind of indigenous AI — solving our own problems, in our own language and context. BiltIQ is a fine example of that.”
What’s next?
Next 6 months — roadmap
- Pilot project in Jharkhand — on Dr. Barnwal's suggestion
- Formal contract signing with NHA — ₹50 lakh
- Preparing the national rollout — toward the 10 crore claims target
- Investor conversations at the AI Impact Summit — foreign investors have already shown interest
Long-term goals (by 2030)
- Advanced version of BiltIQ shipped
- AI-driven operation of the entire Ayushman Bharat claims system
- Expansion into other government health programmes
- Entry into international markets
Key takeaways at a glance
- Win:Auto-Adjudication Hackathon 2026, IISc Bengaluru
- Prize:₹5 lakh cash + path to ₹50 lakh NHA contract
- Praised by:Dr. Sunil Kumar Barnwal (NHA CEO), Abhishek Singh (NTA DG)
- Pilot project:Suggested launch in Jharkhand
- Current claims:60,000 / day · 2 crore / year
- New target:10 crore claims processed per year
- Benefits:Transparency, speed, fraud control, faster payments to genuine patients
Conclusion: a national flag for indigenous tech
This is not just the story of one startup’s success — it is the story of Atmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India) coming to life. On one side stand foreign AI companies with billions of dollars in investment; on the other, technology born in a small city like Jamshedpur is about to reshape the country’s largest health-care programme.
Genuine patients will only get their due once fraudulent claims are stopped. And that is the real victory of BiltIQ AI.