Recently, IndieCare AI’s mentor and Chief Operating Officer Mr Manohar Bidaye was featured on the cover of SiliconIndia’s Artificial Intelligence Special Edition, in a story titled “Building a Digital Future for Humane Stray Animal Management.” The company has also been recognised in the magazine’s AI Special Edition 2026 list, a curated selection of India’s most promising AI-led companies.
For a two-year-old company working in a space that most of India is only just starting to talk about, this is a proud moment.
But the recognition is only part of the story. Behind it is a two-year journey that began with a simple question. What if every stray dog in India had a digital identity, the same way every Indian citizen has an Aadhaar? Let’s uncover how that idea became a working platform.
The story begins in October 2023. A tragic event during that period drew national attention. It called for a more organised, scientific approach to stray dog management. Mr Bidaye, who had stepped out from his corporate career, took a close look at the ABC Rules, spent months meeting vets, animal caregivers, municipal officers, and animal welfare organisations to understand the ground reality. Finally, he decided to build something. In June 2024, he founded IndieCare AI as a structured, scientific stray dog management platform. The vision was simple. Give every Indie dog a verifiable identity; do the same thing for them, what Aadhaar had already done for Indian citizens. The idea sounded straightforward on paper. In practice, digitising something that had run on paper files, informal estimates, and untracked contracts for decades meant asking stakeholders to accept a new level of transparency. That was not easy. Early conversations with officials, contractors, and even some caregivers surfaced real hesitation. But that did not deter us. We kept going.
The heart of the platform is Dog Aadhaar . One photograph gives a stray dog a persistent digital identity. Location, caregiver, medical history, vaccination record, sterilisation status. All in one place. Verifiable in real time. Accessible to the right stakeholders. This means the record stays with the dog for life. Every intervention, every vaccination, every vet visit is logged against the same profile. Municipal officers, NGOs, and caregivers can all work from one shared record.
In December 2024, the Panvel Municipal Corporation ran India’s first scientific AI-assisted stray dog enumeration, executed by IndieCare AI. That single project turned Panvel into the first Indian city to hold a photo-verified register of every stray dog inside its jurisdiction, ward by ward. It is now a national benchmark for what a scientific approach to stray dog management looks like ( Free Press Journal, March 2025 ).
Two years in, the platform has scaled well beyond the pilot phase.
For a company that started with a single idea and a small founding team, being recognised on the cover of a national technology magazine is genuinely humbling. Public safety and animal welfare are not opposing goals. Vaccination reduces rabies risk. Sterilisation manages population. Both are made possible when you know exactly which dog you have already treated. That is what a digital identity system enables, and that is the model SiliconIndia has recognised. The credit belongs to the team, our partners, the municipal corporations and institutions who trusted a two-year-old company with a serious problem, and to the friends and well-wishers who have supported this work from day one.
The magazine cover is welcome recognition, but it is only one milestone. Our vision is a rabies-free India, built ward by ward through structured sterilisation, verified vaccination, and a digital identity for every stray dog. The mission is simple to state and hard to execute: no dog left uncounted, no city left guessing. The real goal is an India where every Indie dog is counted, cared for, and accounted for. If your organisation wants to be part of that shift, reach out to us . We can show you what a structured stray dog management programme looks like.
IndieCare AI. Scientific Stray Dog Management.
How IndieCare AI’s Journey Began?
The story begins in October 2023. A tragic event during that period drew national attention. It called for a more organised, scientific approach to stray dog management. Mr Bidaye, who had stepped out from his corporate career, took a close look at the ABC Rules, spent months meeting vets, animal caregivers, municipal officers, and animal welfare organisations to understand the ground reality. Finally, he decided to build something. In June 2024, he founded IndieCare AI as a structured, scientific stray dog management platform. The vision was simple. Give every Indie dog a verifiable identity; do the same thing for them, what Aadhaar had already done for Indian citizens. The idea sounded straightforward on paper. In practice, digitising something that had run on paper files, informal estimates, and untracked contracts for decades meant asking stakeholders to accept a new level of transparency. That was not easy. Early conversations with officials, contractors, and even some caregivers surfaced real hesitation. But that did not deter us. We kept going.
What is Dog Aadhaar and why does it matter?
The heart of the platform is Dog Aadhaar . One photograph gives a stray dog a persistent digital identity. Location, caregiver, medical history, vaccination record, sterilisation status. All in one place. Verifiable in real time. Accessible to the right stakeholders. This means the record stays with the dog for life. Every intervention, every vaccination, every vet visit is logged against the same profile. Municipal officers, NGOs, and caregivers can all work from one shared record.
The Panvel Milestone
In December 2024, the Panvel Municipal Corporation ran India’s first scientific AI-assisted stray dog enumeration, executed by IndieCare AI. That single project turned Panvel into the first Indian city to hold a photo-verified register of every stray dog inside its jurisdiction, ward by ward. It is now a national benchmark for what a scientific approach to stray dog management looks like ( Free Press Journal, March 2025 ).
Where IndieCare AI Stands Today
Two years in, the platform has scaled well beyond the pilot phase.
- Over 25,000 dogs enrolled with Dog Aadhaar IDs Across Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, Panvel Municipal Corporation, Corporate Sites & Educational Campuses.
- Incubated by the SMILE Council of BMC & by SINE at IIT Bombay.
- Technology has been validated by IIT Guwahati.
- Currently, implementing comprehensive dog population management services at India’s largest municipal corporation, a prestigious educational institution, and a renowned industrial site comprising a large refinery.
Why the SiliconIndia Recognition Matters
For a company that started with a single idea and a small founding team, being recognised on the cover of a national technology magazine is genuinely humbling. Public safety and animal welfare are not opposing goals. Vaccination reduces rabies risk. Sterilisation manages population. Both are made possible when you know exactly which dog you have already treated. That is what a digital identity system enables, and that is the model SiliconIndia has recognised. The credit belongs to the team, our partners, the municipal corporations and institutions who trusted a two-year-old company with a serious problem, and to the friends and well-wishers who have supported this work from day one.
Key Takeaway
The magazine cover is welcome recognition, but it is only one milestone. Our vision is a rabies-free India, built ward by ward through structured sterilisation, verified vaccination, and a digital identity for every stray dog. The mission is simple to state and hard to execute: no dog left uncounted, no city left guessing. The real goal is an India where every Indie dog is counted, cared for, and accounted for. If your organisation wants to be part of that shift, reach out to us . We can show you what a structured stray dog management programme looks like.
IndieCare AI. Scientific Stray Dog Management.
