Atal Innovation Mission completed 4 years of inception on 24th Feb, 2020.
Atal Innovation Mission contributes immensely to promote innovation, entrepreneurship across India.
What is Atal Innovation Mission?
The Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) is a flagship initiative set up by the NITI Aayog to promote innovation and entrepreneurship across the length and breadth of the country.
AIM’s objective is to develop new programmes and policies for fostering innovation in different sectors of the economy, provide platform and collaboration opportunities for different stakeholders create awareness and create an umbrella structure to oversee innovation ecosystem of the country.
Why do we need such a mission?
AIM is envisaged as an umbrella innovation organization that would play an instrumental role in alignment of innovation policies between central, state and sectoral innovation schemes incentivizing the establishment and promotion of an ecosystem of innovation and entrepreneurship at various levels - higher secondary schools, science, engineering and higher academic institutions, and SME/MSME industry, corporate and NGO levels.
Long term goals of AIM include establishment and promotion of Small Business Innovation Research and Development at a national scale (AIM SBIR) for the SME/MSME/startups, and in rejuvenating Science and Technology innovations in major research institutions of the country like CSIR (Council of Scientific Industrial Research), Agri Research (ICAR) and Medical Research (ICMR) aligned to national socio-economic needs.
What are the Functions of Atal Innovation Mission?
The Atal Innovation Mission has following two core functions:
Entrepreneurship promotion through Self-Employment and Talent Utilization, wherein innovators would be supported and mentored to become successful entrepreneurs.
Innovation promotion: to provide a platform where innovative ideas are generated.
Activities carried out under Atal Innovation Mission
Five major initiatives taken in first year of establishment:
Atal Tinkering Labs-Creating problem solving mindset across schools in India.
Atal Incubation Centers-Fostering world class startups and adding a new dimension to the incubator model.
Atal New India Challenges-Fostering product innovations and aligning them to the needs of various sectors/ministeries.
Mentor India Campaign- A national Mentor network in collaboration with public sector, corporates and institutions, to support all the initiatives of the mission.
Atal Community Innovation Center- To stimulate community centric innovation and ideas in the unserved /underserved regions of the country including Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities.
Atal Research & Innovation for Small Enterprises (ARISE) (Coming Soon) -To stimulate innovation and research in the MSME industry.
Atal Tinkering Labs
Background
With a vision to ‘Cultivate one Million children in India as Neoteric Innovators’, Atal Innovation Mission is establishing Atal Tinkering Laboratories (ATLs) in schools across India.
The objective of this scheme is to foster curiosity, creativity and imagination in young minds; and inculcate skills such as design mindset, computational thinking, adaptive learning, physical computing etc.
Key Features of ATL
ATL is a work space where young minds can give shape to their ideas through hands on do-it-yourself mode; and learn innovation skills.
Young children will get a chance to work with tools and equipment to understand the concepts of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math).
ATL would contain educational and learning ‘do it yourself’ kits and equipment on – science, electronics, robotics, open source microcontroller boards, sensors and 3D printers and computers.
Other desirable facilities include meeting rooms and video conferencing facility.
In order to foster inventiveness among students, ATL can conduct different activities ranging from regional and national level competitions, exhibitions, workshops on problem solving, designing and fabrication of products, lecture series etc. at periodic intervals.
Financial Support
AIM will provide grant-in-aid of Rs. 20 Lakh to each school that includes a one-time establishment cost of Rs. 10 lakh and operational expenses of Rs. 10 lakh for a maximum period of 5 years to each ATL.
Eligibility
Schools (minimum Grade VI - X) managed by Government, local body or private trusts/society to set up ATL.
Atal Incubation Centre
Background
AIM intends to support the establishment of new incubation centres called Atal Incubation Centres (AICs) that would nurture innovative start-up businesses in their pursuit to become scalable and sustainable enterprises.
The AICs would create world class incubation facilities across various parts of India with suitable physical infrastructure in terms of capital equipment and operating facilities, coupled with the availability of sectoral experts for mentoring the start-ups, business planning support, access to seed capital, industry partners, trainings and other relevant components required for encouraging innovative start-ups.
Moreover, AICs would be established in subject specific areas such as manufacturing, transport, energy, health, education, agriculture, water and sanitation etc.
Eligibility
Entities such as such as higher educational institutions, R&D institutes, corporate sector, alternative investment funds registered with SEBI, business accelerators, group of individuals, and individuals are eligible to apply.
Financial Support
AIM will provide a grant-in-aid of upto Rs. 10 crore for a maximum period of 5 years to cover the capital and operational expenditures to establish the AIC.
Requirements
The applican t would have to provide at least 10,000 sq. ft. of ready-to-use, built-up space, for the exclusive use of the AIC.
Atal New India Challenge (ANIC)
One of Atal Innovation Mission’s primary goals is to incentivize innovation in areas critical to India’s growth.
The innovative solutions in the areas like health, housing, hygiene, energy and water can impact directly on livelihood of all sections of society.
Total of 24 challenges are launched in partnership with five different ministries and departments of central government.
The vision of ANIC is two-fold:
help create products from existing technologies relevant for national and social causes (productization);
help new deep-tech products find markets and early customers (commercialization) in the context of India.
Mentor of Change Program
Mentor of Change Program is a strategic nation building initiative to engage leaders who can guide and mentor students in thousands of Atal Tinkering Labs and startups and incubators under the programs of Atal Innovation Mission across India.
These labs are non-prescriptive by nature, and mentors are expected to be enablers rather than instructors.
Atal Community Innovation Center:
Atal Innovation Mission has taken this new initiative to support community innovation drive in the country. The program is directed to encourage the spirit of innovation through solution driven design thinking to serve the society.
It will focus on undeserved/unserved regions of the country which at present lack a vibrant startup and innovation ecosystem.
Proposed Focus Areas: Underserved/unserved regions of Tier 1 / metro cities, Tier 2 & Tier 3 cities, Smart Cities, Aspirational districts, North-East, J&K and Rural and Tribal regions of India.
Funding Mechanism:
The centers will be established either in PPP mode or with support of PSUs and other agencies.
The maximum grant-in-aid support from AIM will be up to 2.5 crores subject following the compliance to program guidelines and contributing matching from the host institutions and their funding partner(s).
Atal Research & Innovation for Small Enterprises (ARISE) (Coming Soon)
ARISE is an initiative to promote research, innovation and competitiveness of Indian startups and small enterprises including Micro, Small, and Medium enterprises.
The program’s objective is to catalyze research, innovation, find solutions to the sectoral problems and subsequently trigger creation of new industrial sectors, through support of Central Government Ministries / Departments, who will become the first buyer of the solutions / products innovated under the ARISE program by start-ups and small enterprises.
ARISE will be a multi-phase, multi-sector, and multi-stakeholder program to identify, fund, guide, hand-hold, and procure from Indian startups and small enterprises.
It aims to inculcate a culture and mindset of engaging and co-creating amongst the industry as well as the government, to improve India’s import substitution capabilities, develop export leadership in nation-critical sectors, and provide indigenous solutions for challenges in India.
Quick Recap
Atal Innovation Mission—launched on 24th February 2016— flagship initiative set up by the NITI Aayog.
Atal Tinkering Labs—AIM will provide grant-in-aid of Rs. 20 Lakh to each school for a maximum period of 5 years to each ATL.
Atal Incubation Centre-- create world class incubation facilities across various parts of India-- AIM will provide a grant-in-aid of upto Rs. 10 crore for a maximum period of 5 years.
In the Mentor of Change Program mentors are expected to be enablers rather than instructors.
Atal Community Innovation Center-- established either in PPP mode or with support of PSUs-- maximum grant-in-aid support from AIM will be up to 2.5 crores.
Atal Research & Innovation for Small Enterprises is an initiative to promote research, innovation and competitiveness of Indian startups and small enterprises.
