What is Atal Innovation Mission 2.0? Cabinet Approves Continuation of Flagship Scheme

New Delhi: The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved the continuation of its flagship initiative, the Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), under the aegis of NITI Aayog.

According to a cabinet release, under this scheme there will be an enhanced scope of work with an allocated budget of Rs 2,750 crore for the period till March 31, 2028.

What is Atal Innovation Mission 2.0?

AIM 2.0 is a step towards Viksit Bharat that aims to expand, strengthen, and deepen India’s already vibrant innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem, an official statement said.

According to the cabinet’s statement, the approval underscores the government’s commitment to fostering a robust innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem in India. With India at rank 39 on the Global Innovation Index and home to world's third-largest start-up ecosystem, the next phase of Atal Innovation Mission (AIM 2.0) is expected to further enhance India’s global competitiveness.

“The continuation of AIM will directly contribute to creating better jobs, innovative products, and high-impact services across sectors,” an official statement issued by cabinet read.

AIM 2.0 To Focus on Qualitative Parameters  

While building on the accomplishments of AIM 1.0, such as Atal Tinkering Labs (ATL) and Atal Incubation Centers (AIC), AIM 2.0 marks a qualitative shift in the mission’s approach. Whereas AIM 1.0 involved implementing programs that built new innovation infrastructure to strengthen India’s then nascent ecosystem, AIM 2.0 involves piloting new initiatives designed to fill gaps in the ecosystem and scaling successes through central and state governments, industry, academia and community, an official statement said.

AIM 2.0 is designed to strengthen India’s innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem in three ways: (a) by increasing input (i.e., ushering more innovators and entrepreneurs),  (b) by improving the success rate or ‘throughput’ (i.e., helping more startups succeed) and (c) by improving the quality of ‘output’ (i.e., producing better jobs, products and services).

Two Programs target increasing input to the ecosystem

• The Language Inclusive Program of Innovation (LIPI) to build innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystems in India’s 22 scheduled languages for lowering entry barrier confronting innovators, entrepreneurs and investors who don’t speak English. 30 Vernacular Innovation Centers will be established in existing incubators
• The Frontier Program to create customized templates for the innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystems of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), Ladakh, the North Eastern states (NE), Aspirational Districts and Blocks where 15% of India’s citizens live. 2500 new ATLs will be created for template development.

As per cabinet’s statement, impetus will be given to Human Capital Development Program, Deeptech Reactor, State Innovation Mission, International Innovation Collaborations program.