NEW DELHI: Banega Swasth India is back for a 12th season, and this time it means business. NDTV and Dettol’s flagship health campaign will launch an AI-powered hygiene chatbot, a gamified loyalty card programme for children, and an accessibility curriculum for disabled youngsters when it takes to the airwaves on 2 October 2025.
The telethon, fronted by actor Ayushmann Khurrana, will rally Indians around the theme “I Am the Change” and the call to action Mere Dus Gaz Se Viksit Bharat Tak (From My Ten Yards to a Developed India). The ambition is bold: transform every citizen into an agent of health change.
The star attraction is Hygieia, India’s first hygiene chatbot, which will dispense health guidance in 22 Indian languages and four global ones. It sits alongside the Swasth Bharat Champ Hygiene Loyalty Card Programme—India’s first non-financial hygiene loyalty scheme for children, designed to build lifelong healthy habits through gamification and rewards.
Breaking new ground on inclusion, Dettol will unveil what it claims is the world’s first digital accessibility curriculum for children who are blind, deaf, mute or autistic. Awards will honour maternal and child health tech accelerators focused on the critical first 1,000 days of life.
President Droupadi Murmu will grace the event, joined by Uttar Pradesh governor Anandi Ben and Odisha chief minister Vishnu Deo Sai, Malaika Arora, Nimrat Kaur and Jasmine Sandlas will perform.
NDTV chief executive & editor in chief Rahul Kanwal said the campaign has evolved into a movement that inspires citizens to contribute to the nation’s health journey. “With innovations like Hygieia and inclusive programmes for every child, the campaign demonstrates that purposeful individual action can transform communities—and collectively, guide India towards a Viksit Bharat by 2047.”
Reckitt executive vice-president for south Asia Gaurav Jain said the partnership was driving meaningful change in millions of lives. “By leveraging innovative solutions, we’re empowering individuals and communities to take charge of their health and hygiene. Our commitment to health equity and inclusivity is reflected in our Dettol Accessibility Curriculum, which ensures that no child is left behind.”
The campaign has reached over 26 million children and enabled more than 38 billion handwashing occasions. Its architects believe individual responsibility and collective resolve will propel India’s health transformation. Change, they insist, begins with me.