Government extends Atal Innovation Mission till 31st March 2028
Government Scheme
5 min read
The government of India has extended the NITI (National Institution for Transforming India) Aayog’s flagship Atal Innovation Mission till 31st March 2028 with an expansion in its scope.
The newly expanded and approved mission has been named Atal Innovation Misson 2.0.
The Union Cabinet took the decision in a meeting held in New Delhi on 25 November 2024, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The Atal Innovation Mission was launched by the government of India in 2016 under the NITI Aayog to promote a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship in the country.
Budget of the Atal Innovation Mission 2.0
The budget of the Atal Innovation Mission 2.0 is Rs.2,750 crore.
The scope of the Atal Innovation Mission 2.0 has been extended as compared to Atal Innovation Misson1.0.
Difference between Atal Innovation Mission 1 and 2.0
- The Atal Innovation Mission 1.0 launched the Atal Tinkering lab to promote innovation in schools and the Atal Incubation Center to build and support world-class innovation and entrepreneurs who want to build scalable and sustainable enterprises.
- The Atal Innovation Mission 2.0 aims to plug the gaps in the country’s ecosystem and design initiatives to fill the gap.
Aim and Scope of the Atal Innovation Mission 2.0
The newly approved Atal Innovation Mission 2..0 has the following three aims.
Increasing Input (more innovators and entrepreneurs)
Aims to build a startup ecosystem in 22 Indian languages in order to increase the number of innovators and entrepreneurs. For this purpose, Atal Innovation Mission 2.0 will launch:
- Language Inclusive Program of Innovation -to establish 30 vernacular Innovation Centers in the country.
- 2500 new Atal Tinkering Lab will be set up in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), Ladakh, the North Eastern states (NE), Aspirational Districts and Blocks to create customized templates for the innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystems.
Improving Success Rate or Throughput
The focus will be on ensuring high success rates amongst the startups. To ensure a high success rate, the Atal Innovation Mission 2.0 will launch:
- Human Capital Development Program- to produce professionals to build, operate, and operate the country's innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem.Target to produce 5500 professionals.
- Deeptech Reactor- to create a research sandbox for testing ways of commercializing research-based deep tech startups.
- State Innovation Mission -to assist states/Union Territories in building a strong innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem.
- International Innovation Collaborations Program- to take India’s innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem international.
Improving the quality of output
The focus will be on producing better jobs, products and services. To achieve this objective, Atal Innovation Mission 2.0 will launch:
- Industrial Accelerator Program -to increase industry involvement in scaling up advanced startups. Minimum 10 Industry Accelerators to be set up.
- Atal Sectoral Innovation Launchpads Program -to build iDEX-like platforms in central ministries for integrating and procuring from startups in key industry sectors. Minimum 10 launchpads will be built across key ministries.
