CONTENTS

1. India Boosts Innovation with Enhanced Atal Innovation Mission 2.0

India Boosts Innovation with Enhanced Atal Innovation Mission 2.0

Context:

The Union Cabinet has endorsed the continuation and expansion of the Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), operated under the auspices of NITI Aayog, with a significantly increased budget of Rs. 2,750 crore. This funding is set to support the newly launched AIM 2.0, which aims to invigorate India’s innovation ecosystem through 2028.

Relevance:

GS II: Government policies and Interventions

Dimensions of the Article:

1. AIM 2.0 Overview
2. About Atal Innovation Mission

AIM 2.0 Overview

Expansion of Innovation Framework:

• AIM 2.0 is designed to broaden and enhance India’s innovation ecosystem, building upon the successes of initiatives like Atal Tinkering Labs (ATLs) and Atal Incubation Centers (AICs).
• It introduces new programs and scales existing efforts to foster a deeper, more inclusive innovation landscape across India.

Global and National Innovation Standing:

• India holds the 39th position on the Global Innovation Index and boasts the third-largest startup ecosystem globally. AIM 2.0 seeks to elevate these standings through targeted developmental programs.

Key Initiatives under AIM 2.0:

• Language Inclusive Program of Innovation (LIPI):
  • Establishes innovation centers across India that operate in 22 scheduled languages, aiming to bridge the language barrier for non-English speaking innovators.
• Frontier Program:
  • Plans to set up 2500 new Atal Tinkering Labs, particularly in underserved regions such as Jammu and Kashmir, the North Eastern states, and Aspirational Districts, enhancing access to innovation resources.
• Ecosystem Enhancement Measures:
  • Focuses on training professionals including managers, teachers, and trainers to support and sustain the innovation ecosystem.
  • Develops a research sandbox to aid the commercialization of deep-tech startups, which typically require longer periods of investment.
  • Strengthens state-level innovation through NITI Aayog’s State Support Mission.
• Global Engagement:
  • Expands India’s innovation connections on a global scale through initiatives like the Global Tinkering Olympiad and strategic partnerships with international entities such as WIPO and G20 nations.
• Programs Aimed at Improving Output Quality:
  • The Industrial Accelerator Program, which will create 10 accelerators in crucial sectors through Public-Private Partnerships (PPP), aims to scale advanced startups.
  • The Atal Sectoral Innovation Launchpads (ASIL) program establishes platforms similar to iDEX across central ministries to integrate and procure from startups in key industry sectors.

About Atal Innovation Mission

• The Mission has been set up under the NITI Aayog, in accordance with the Hon’ble Finance Minister’s declaration in the 2015 Budget Speech.
• The objectives of the AIM are to create and promote an ecosystem of innovation and entrepreneurship across the country via interventions at school, university, research institutions, MSME and industry levels.
• The AIM has focused on both infrastructure creation and institution building.
• The AIM has worked on integrating innovation ecosystem both nationally and globally

Major Initiatives:

• 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/ministries.
• Mentor India Campaign: A national mentor network in collaboration with the public sector, corporates and institutions, to support all the initiatives of the mission.
• Atal Community Innovation Centre: To stimulate community centric innovation and ideas in the unserved /underserved regions of the country including Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities.
• Atal Research and Innovation for Small Enterprises (ARISE): To stimulate innovation and research in the MSME industry.