Press Release: Powering Innovation in Healthcare: Reckitt Joins Hands with PATH-CHRI to Launch Dettol Banega Swasth India – Maternal and Child Health Tech Accelerator

New Delhi: A bold leap to unlock innovative solutions to advance early healthcare during the first 1000 days of life and improve maternal and child health outcomes across India, accelerating the nation’s journey towards Viksit Bharat @2047

National, 10 September 2025: In a significant move to revolutionize maternal and child health in India, Reckitt, a leading global consumer health and hygiene company, has partnered with PATH, a global nonprofit organization, and Centre for Health Research and Innovation (CHRI), to launch the Dettol Banega Swasth India – Maternal and Child Health Tech Accelerator.

This initiative is a call to action for India’s brightest innovators to reimagine healthcare for mothers and children, especially in underserved communities. With focus on early health and development interventions during the first 1000 days of life, the accelerator will serve as a platform to identify and support innovative solutions that empower mothers and caregivers, frontline workers, and health systems to deliver better outcomes from the very start of life. It also aims to strengthen the public health ecosystem across 500 aspirational blocks of India, ensuring that innovation truly benefits those who need it most.

As part of India’s journey towards Viksit Bharat @ 2047, the Government of India has made remarkable progress in transforming the healthcare landscape with a clear vision of Universal Health Coverage and building a resilient, inclusive, tech-enabled health system. Schemes like Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY have reduced out-of-pocket healthcare expenses for families from 63% to 39%, while initiatives such as the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission, eSanjeevani Telemedicine Service, Tele-MANAS, and U-WIN are leveraging technology to improve healthcare. Reaching 2.6 crore infants and 2.9 crore new mothers every year, the Universal Immunization Program ensures no eligible newborn or pregnant woman is left out. Complemented by Jan Aushadhi Pariyojana, doubling of medical colleges, and initiatives like MedTech Mitra, India is building a stronger grassroots health ecosystem. The focus remains on preventive healthcare, innovation, and public-private collaboration with a unified goal – every citizen has access to quality, affordable healthcare.

Aligned with this national vision, Reckitt is committed to strengthening healthcare through the Dettol Banega Swasth India – Maternal and Child Health Tech Accelerator. Reckitt and PATH-CHRI will be investing in solutions that empower communities and improve health outcomes during the first 1,000 days of life, putting purpose into action through partnerships that drive lasting change where it matters most. Through this initiative, Reckitt and PATH-CHRI are inviting innovators from India with product-ready solutions (TRL 9). Shortlisted innovators will take center stage at a high-impact pitch event on 15th and 16th September, where they will showcase their solutions to an eminent jury panel comprising leaders from across the health sector — including Padma Shri awardees in public health, policy experts, and grassroots changemakers.

The top five winning innovations will be awarded on 2nd October, during the grand launch of Dettol Banega Swasth India Season 12, a platform that has become synonymous with health transformation in India. But the journey doesn’t end there. These five solutions will be implemented in partnership with Plan India, with the goal to support mothers and caregivers during the first 1000 days, empower frontline health workers and improve maternal and child health outcomes, especially in marginalized and underserved communities.

Gaurav Jain, Executive Vice President – South Asia, Reckitt, said,

At Reckitt, our purpose is to protect, heal, and nurture in the relentless pursuit of a cleaner, healthier world that aligns closely with the Government of India’s vision to ensure every citizen has access to quality and affordable healthcare. We believe that access to the highest standards of hygiene should be a right, not a privilege. Through the Dettol Banega Swasth India – Maternal and Child Health Tech Accelerator, in partnership with PATH-CHRI, we aim to bridge the gap between innovation and impact. This initiative is about transforming bold ideas into scalable, real-world solutions that reach the last mile, strengthening systems, improving lives, and supporting India’s journey toward Viksit Bharat @2047. Together, our success will continue to positively impact communities, building an ecosystem where health and hygiene are universally accessible.

Neeraj Jain, Director, Growth Operations – Asia, Middle East and Europe, PATH,

At PATH-CHRI, we believe that innovation and collaboration are the twin engines that drive public health impact. We are proud to partner with Reckitt for the Dettol Banega Swasth India – Maternal and Child Health Tech Accelerator, an important step toward reimagining how we deliver on the promise of the first 1000 days of life. This initiative aims to identify, nurture, and scale homegrown solutions that address long-standing gaps in maternal and child health. By bridging innovators with public health systems, we are not only supporting bold ideas but also shaping a future where every child in India has an equal chance to survive and thrive.

The Dettol Banega Swasth India – Maternal and Child Health Tech Accelerator, presented by PATH-CHRI, will act as a catalytic platform—bringing together innovators, policymakers, and healthcare stakeholders. At the heart of this initiative lies the National Health Mission’s RMNCH+A strategy — Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health — which provides a comprehensive, lifecycle approach to healthcare. It integrates services across reproductive health, maternal care, child development, adolescent wellbeing, nutrition, and hygiene, ensuring continuous care from adolescence through motherhood and childhood. By further connecting this framework with innovation, the initiative aims to bridge gaps and accelerate the nation’s progress toward a healthier, more resilient Viksit Bharat.

NDTV – Dettol have been working towards a clean and healthy India since 2014 via the Banega Swachh India initiative, which in its Season 10 is helmed by Campaign Ambassador Ayushmann Khurrana. The campaign aims to highlight the inter-dependency of humans and the environment, and of humans on one another with the focus on One Health, One Planet, One Future – Leaving No One Behind. It stresses on the need to take care of, and consider, everyone’s health in India – especially vulnerable communities – the LGBTQ population, indigenous people, India’s different tribes, ethnic and linguistic minorities, people with disabilities, migrants, geographically remote populations, gender and sexual minorities. In a world post COVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign will continue to raise awareness on the same along with focussing on the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children, fight malnutrition, mental well-being, self-care, science and health, adolescent health & gender awareness. Along with the health of people, the campaign has realised the need to also take care of the health of the eco-system. Our environment is fragile due to human activity, which is not only over-exploiting available resources, but also generating immense pollution as a result of using and extracting those resources. The imbalance has also led to immense biodiversity loss that has caused one of the biggest threats to human survival – climate change. It has now been described as a “code red for humanity.” The campaign will continue to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and sanitation workers and menstrual hygiene. Banega Swasth India will also be taking forward the dream of Swasth Bharat, the campaign feels that only a Swachh or clean India where toilets are used and open defecation free (ODF) status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and the country can become a Swasth or healthy India.