HDFC ERGO: Panchkosha Wellbeing – India’s First Wellbeing Index

Project Name

Development of a Scalable Online Ecosystem for Developing Mental Health and Well-being

Professor-in-Charge: Prof. Ashish Pandey
Shailesh J. Mehta School of Management (SJMSOM)
IIT Bombay

Corporate Partner

HDFC Ergo and SINE (Institutional Stakeholders supporting the Panchkosha Wellbeing platform)

Vision

To empower individuals in India to take control of their holistic wellbeing by integrating ancient Indian wisdom with modern science, creating a generation that is mentally resilient, emotionally balanced, and purpose-driven.

Mission

To foster holistic well-being and enable human flourishing through an evidence-based, tech-enabled well-being platform, by delivering personalised, preventive interventions that integrate Indian wisdom with modern behavioural science.

Challenges Addressed

  • Fragmented mental health solutions that focus only on symptoms, not the whole person.
  • Rising stress, anxiety, burnout, and disengagement among students and professionals.
  • Over-medicalization of wellbeing with limited cultural relevance in the Indian context.
  • Lack of scalable, preventive, and measurable wellbeing frameworks in higher education and organisations.
  • Absence of structured integration of Indian Knowledge Systems into modern wellbeing practices.

 
Objectives

  • To conduct holistic wellbeing assessments and provide personalised wellbeing interventions along with continuous feedback.
  • To shift wellbeing from reactive treatment to proactive prevention.
  • To build institutional capacity for sustainable mental health and wellbeing practices.
  • To generate data, evidence, and insights to influence policy and practice.

Proposed Impact

  • Enable individuals to understand and manage their well-being through structured assessments and personalised interventions.
  • Creation of culturally rooted, globally relevant wellbeing benchmarks.
  • Long-term societal impact through healthier, self-aware, and purpose-aligned individuals.
  • Build a scalable ecosystem capable of reaching diverse populations across India.
  • Enhanced academic performance, workplace engagement, and leadership effectiveness.
  • Improved mental resilience, emotional regulation, and life satisfaction.
  • Reduction in stress-related disorders and burnout.

 

At a Glance

  • Framework: Built on the Panchkosha model to address wellbeing as an integrated whole.
  • Approach: Holistic (mind, body, and purpose), Preventive (build resilience before crisis), Personalised (needs-based pathways), and Evidence-based (validated tools, outcomes tracking, continuous improvement).
  • Delivery: A digital platform that combines self-assessments, personalised journeys, and dashboards with guided practices and institutional programmes.
  • Users: Designed for students (stress, focus, self-regulation), faculty (burnout, emotional balance), professionals (performance, resilience), and organistions/institutions (culture, retention, productivity, wellbeing metrics).
  • Differentiator: A unique blend of Indian wisdom × modern psychology × technology that is culturally rooted, scientifically grounded, and scalable.
  • Successfully trialed with over 2,000 users, covering a total outreach of 1.3 lakh individuals.
  • Supported and approved by SINE, IIT Bombay’s incubation centre.

 

Why It Matters

  • Demonstrates how technology-enabled, culturally grounded, and clinically informed approaches can address India’s growing mental health needs at scale.
  • Reflects strong user engagement and institutional support, reinforcing the project’s credibility and effectiveness.
  • Showcases a clear pathway toward wider adoption across diverse populations.
  • Represents a sustainable and innovative model for improving mental health and holistic wellbeing in India.
  • India needs solutions rooted in its own wisdom systems.
  • Institutions can no longer afford disengaged, burned-out minds.
  • Holistic wellbeing is the foundation of sustainable education, leadership, and innovation.

 

We invite corporates to partner with IIT Bombay to scale such research into real-world impact through meaningful CSR collaborations. Write to us at corporateconnect@iitbacr.com to explore opportunities.