Shalink & ReyX Infinity Research Hub Pvt. Ltd. is a startup-led innovation and social impact organization committed to applying Artificial Intelligence (AI), mobile health, and data-driven interventions for community development. Our flagship initiative, the Body Decoder – Tribal Edition, is an AI-powered nutrition surveillance and intervention platform designed to combat malnutrition in India’s tribal populations innovated by Mr .Sharvesh Adityaji M.B (CTO -ShalinK & ReyX Iinfinty Reserch Hub Private Limited.

To strengthen the scientific foundation and ensure methodological rigor, Shalink is seeking collaboration with the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati, under the academic guidance of Prof. Rajiv Kumar Kar, an expert in Decision Sciences and Artificial Intelligence. This collaboration aims to merge SHALINK’s field-driven innovation with IIT Guwahati’s research excellence, creating a Centre of Excellence in Tribal Nutrition Intelligence under the Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA).

Malnutrition is one of the most pressing challenges faced by India’s tribal communities. According to NFHS-5, over 65% of tribal women suffer from anemia, and more than 70% of children face undernutrition in various forms. Despite government programs like ICDS and Poshan Abhiyaan, persistent gaps remain in personalization, surveillance, and integration of indigenous food systems.

Shalink’s Body Decoder offers a tech-enabled, culturally grounded solution, while IIT Guwahati brings in:

• Academic rigor in AI-driven nutrition analytics.
• Expertise in data modeling, decision sciences, and ethical AI.
• Research validation for indigenous food composition studies.
• A strong ecosystem for knowledge dissemination and replication.

The Body Decoder is a digital nutrition intelligence platform designed to:

• Detect Nutritional Risks – Using AI models to analyze dietary data and flag risks of anemia, vitamin deficiencies, and protein-energy malnutrition.
• Integrate Indigenous Foods – Documenting and validating nutrient values of traditional tribal staples such as millets, tubers, mahua, bamboo shoots, and wild leafy greens.
• Empower Frontline Workers – Equipping Anganwadi and ASHA workers with an easy-to-use app for household-level nutrition screening and culturally relevant counseling.
• Provide Multilingual & Offline Access – Ensuring usability in local dialects (Santhali, Odia, Gondi, Chhattisgarhi) even in areas with limited connectivity.
• Policy Dashboards – Delivering anonymized, real-time insights to MoTA and state governments for designing targeted nutrition interventions.
• Guidance on Explainable AI and ethical safeguards.
• Joint publications and dissemination of findings.

The collaboration will follow a 4 phased action plan:

• Baseline Survey & Food Documentation
  • Surveys in Jharkhand, Odisha, and Chhattisgarh covering 10,000 households.
  • Documentation and nutritional profiling of 100+ indigenous foods.
• AI Model Customization & App Localization
  • Training algorithms on enriched tribal food datasets.
  • Developing offline and multilingual features.
• Pilot Deployment & Community Training
  • Rollout in 15 pilot villages.
  • Training 300 Anganwadi/ASHA workers in digital nutrition counseling.
• Evaluation & Policy Integration
  • Measuring improvements in dietary diversity and anemia reduction.
  • Launch of real-time nutrition dashboards for MoTA.
  • Drafting policy briefs and replication roadmap.

• 25–30% increase in dietary diversity scores among participating households.
• 10–15% reduction in anemia prevalence among women and adolescents.
• Creation of India’s first Tribal Nutrition Digital Repository with 100+ validated indigenous foods.
• Digital empowerment of 300+ frontline health workers.
• Replicable model ready for scale-up across India’s tribal belts.
• Policy-ready dashboards integrated into MoTA’s decision-making framework.

• Scientific Validation: Ensures all AI-driven recommendations are scientifically robust and culturally appropriate.
• Policy Impact: Provides MoTA with real-time, evidence-based insights for targeted interventions.
• Community Empowerment: Strengthens indigenous food systems and restores pride in tribal diets.
• Scalability: Creates a replicable model that can expand across India and potentially to other countries with indigenous populations.

Through this proposed collaboration with IIT Guwahati and Prof. Rajiv Kumar Kar, SHALINK & REYX aims to transform the fight against tribal malnutrition into a technology-driven, culturally rooted, and policy-relevant initiative.

We invite stakeholders — including the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, TRIFED, NGOs, CSR partners, and global development agencies — to join hands in building a Centre of Excellence in Tribal Nutrition & AI. Together, we can create healthier, more resilient tribal communities and set a benchmark for digital nutrition innovation in India.