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 Page 1


ATAL 
INNOVATION 
MISSION 
SECTION-VI
Page 2


ATAL 
INNOVATION 
MISSION 
SECTION-VI
INTRODUCTION
Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) is the 
Government of India’s flagship initiative 
to promote a culture of innovation and 
entrepreneurship in the country . It was set up 
in 2016. AIM has taken a holistic approach 
to nurture a problem-solving innovative 
mindset among schoolchildren and create 
an ecosystem of entrepreneurship in 
universities, research institutions, private 
sector and MSME. 
All the initiatives of 
AIM are currently 
being monitored 
and managed 
systematically using real-
time MIS systems and through 
dynamic dashboards. To ensure 
continuous improvements, AIM has 
its programmes regularly reviewed 
by third-party agencies.
ATAL 
INNOVATION 
MISSION 
Annual Report 2021–22
91
Annual Report 2021–22
Page 3


ATAL 
INNOVATION 
MISSION 
SECTION-VI
INTRODUCTION
Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) is the 
Government of India’s flagship initiative 
to promote a culture of innovation and 
entrepreneurship in the country . It was set up 
in 2016. AIM has taken a holistic approach 
to nurture a problem-solving innovative 
mindset among schoolchildren and create 
an ecosystem of entrepreneurship in 
universities, research institutions, private 
sector and MSME. 
All the initiatives of 
AIM are currently 
being monitored 
and managed 
systematically using real-
time MIS systems and through 
dynamic dashboards. To ensure 
continuous improvements, AIM has 
its programmes regularly reviewed 
by third-party agencies.
ATAL 
INNOVATION 
MISSION 
Annual Report 2021–22
91
Annual Report 2021–22
ATAL TINKERING LABS 
Atal Tinkering Labs (ATLs) is a flagship initiative of AIM to nurture an innovative mindset amongst 
high-school students. 
ATLs encourage students to come up with out-of-the-box ideas. The programme is designed to 
equip students with skills such as design thinking, critical thinking, computational thinking, and 
digital fabrication. 
Under the ATL scheme, grant-in-aid of up to Rs 20 lakh is provided to select schools to set up 
an Atal Tinkering Lab. ATL has four aspects:
Select 
As of December 2021, 9550 ATLs have been sanctioned, covering over 90% of all districts, including 
99 Aspirational ones, in both Government and private schools. 
Establish
AIM, along with its partners, conducted several teacher-training programmes, such as ‘Unbox Tinkering‘. 
To date, more than 3800 teachers have been trained. Training sessions for teachers have also been 
conducted on app development, ATL game development, ethics and leadership in innovation, design 
thinking, etc.
Enable 
In 2021–22, several new online modules on innovation and technology were launched for students, 
including ATL Artificial Intelligence Module, ATL Gaming Module, ATL CollabCAD Module, ATL App 
Development Module, and ATL Python Learning Module. Over 100 webinars were conducted for 
students and teachers, and over 10,000 students and 3500 teachers were engaged. AIM also 
continued with its flagship competitions and events such as ATL Marathon, ATL Tinkerpreneur, ATL 
Space Challenge, and ATL Community Day.
Celebrate
AIM recognizes and encourages all students, teachers, and mentors for their efforts and good work 
through multiple platforms and initiatives such as Wall of Fame, Exemplary Teachers of Change, ATLs 
of the Month, Student Innovator Programme, Student Entrepreneurship Programme (SEP).
92
Annual Report 2021–22
Atal Innovation Mission 
Page 4


ATAL 
INNOVATION 
MISSION 
SECTION-VI
INTRODUCTION
Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) is the 
Government of India’s flagship initiative 
to promote a culture of innovation and 
entrepreneurship in the country . It was set up 
in 2016. AIM has taken a holistic approach 
to nurture a problem-solving innovative 
mindset among schoolchildren and create 
an ecosystem of entrepreneurship in 
universities, research institutions, private 
sector and MSME. 
All the initiatives of 
AIM are currently 
being monitored 
and managed 
systematically using real-
time MIS systems and through 
dynamic dashboards. To ensure 
continuous improvements, AIM has 
its programmes regularly reviewed 
by third-party agencies.
ATAL 
INNOVATION 
MISSION 
Annual Report 2021–22
91
Annual Report 2021–22
ATAL TINKERING LABS 
Atal Tinkering Labs (ATLs) is a flagship initiative of AIM to nurture an innovative mindset amongst 
high-school students. 
ATLs encourage students to come up with out-of-the-box ideas. The programme is designed to 
equip students with skills such as design thinking, critical thinking, computational thinking, and 
digital fabrication. 
Under the ATL scheme, grant-in-aid of up to Rs 20 lakh is provided to select schools to set up 
an Atal Tinkering Lab. ATL has four aspects:
Select 
As of December 2021, 9550 ATLs have been sanctioned, covering over 90% of all districts, including 
99 Aspirational ones, in both Government and private schools. 
Establish
AIM, along with its partners, conducted several teacher-training programmes, such as ‘Unbox Tinkering‘. 
To date, more than 3800 teachers have been trained. Training sessions for teachers have also been 
conducted on app development, ATL game development, ethics and leadership in innovation, design 
thinking, etc.
Enable 
In 2021–22, several new online modules on innovation and technology were launched for students, 
including ATL Artificial Intelligence Module, ATL Gaming Module, ATL CollabCAD Module, ATL App 
Development Module, and ATL Python Learning Module. Over 100 webinars were conducted for 
students and teachers, and over 10,000 students and 3500 teachers were engaged. AIM also 
continued with its flagship competitions and events such as ATL Marathon, ATL Tinkerpreneur, ATL 
Space Challenge, and ATL Community Day.
Celebrate
AIM recognizes and encourages all students, teachers, and mentors for their efforts and good work 
through multiple platforms and initiatives such as Wall of Fame, Exemplary Teachers of Change, ATLs 
of the Month, Student Innovator Programme, Student Entrepreneurship Programme (SEP).
92
Annual Report 2021–22
Atal Innovation Mission 
Mentor India 
Robust partnerships forged with different stakeholders are crucial to the ATL initiative. Sustainable 
institutional frameworks that draw upon the capacity, resources, technical know-how of different 
partners are key to ensuring the success of the programme. Moreover, since tinkering as a 
concept is still new in our country, to advance the idea requires continuous handholding by 
mentors from the corporate world, academia, higher education institutes, the Government and 
so on. Given that ATL is non-prescriptive by nature, mentors are expected to be enablers rather 
than instructors. Technical know-how, innovation and design, business and entrepreneurship are 
some of the areas of contribution by the mentors. 
In 2021–22, AIM engaged with 5179 mentors and 90 regional mentors of change.
The partners also help in expanding the technical horizons of the students by providing internship 
opportunities and organizing other programmes. 
This year, AIM conducted the Mentor Roundtable, a flagship event to recognize top mentors, 
and published the GeM book to share and celebrate the exceptional work done by the Mentors 
of Change.
ATAL INCUBATION CENTRES
Atal Incubation Centres (AICs) aim to foster the entrepreneurial spirit while creating a supportive 
ecosystem for start-ups and entrepreneurs in India. AIM has been tasked with establishing and 
supporting world-class incubators.
Under this initiative, AIM supports 59 greenfield AICs and nine established incubation centres 
(EICs). 
Journey So Far
Nineteen subsequent tranches, with a total outlay of Rs 38.05 crore, have been processed in 
2021–22.
Impact Generated in the Startup Ecosystem
Creating World-Class Incubation Ecosystem
To make its AICs and EICs world-class incubators, AIM follows a structured approach. 
93
Atal Innovation Mission 
Annual Report 2021–22
Page 5


ATAL 
INNOVATION 
MISSION 
SECTION-VI
INTRODUCTION
Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) is the 
Government of India’s flagship initiative 
to promote a culture of innovation and 
entrepreneurship in the country . It was set up 
in 2016. AIM has taken a holistic approach 
to nurture a problem-solving innovative 
mindset among schoolchildren and create 
an ecosystem of entrepreneurship in 
universities, research institutions, private 
sector and MSME. 
All the initiatives of 
AIM are currently 
being monitored 
and managed 
systematically using real-
time MIS systems and through 
dynamic dashboards. To ensure 
continuous improvements, AIM has 
its programmes regularly reviewed 
by third-party agencies.
ATAL 
INNOVATION 
MISSION 
Annual Report 2021–22
91
Annual Report 2021–22
ATAL TINKERING LABS 
Atal Tinkering Labs (ATLs) is a flagship initiative of AIM to nurture an innovative mindset amongst 
high-school students. 
ATLs encourage students to come up with out-of-the-box ideas. The programme is designed to 
equip students with skills such as design thinking, critical thinking, computational thinking, and 
digital fabrication. 
Under the ATL scheme, grant-in-aid of up to Rs 20 lakh is provided to select schools to set up 
an Atal Tinkering Lab. ATL has four aspects:
Select 
As of December 2021, 9550 ATLs have been sanctioned, covering over 90% of all districts, including 
99 Aspirational ones, in both Government and private schools. 
Establish
AIM, along with its partners, conducted several teacher-training programmes, such as ‘Unbox Tinkering‘. 
To date, more than 3800 teachers have been trained. Training sessions for teachers have also been 
conducted on app development, ATL game development, ethics and leadership in innovation, design 
thinking, etc.
Enable 
In 2021–22, several new online modules on innovation and technology were launched for students, 
including ATL Artificial Intelligence Module, ATL Gaming Module, ATL CollabCAD Module, ATL App 
Development Module, and ATL Python Learning Module. Over 100 webinars were conducted for 
students and teachers, and over 10,000 students and 3500 teachers were engaged. AIM also 
continued with its flagship competitions and events such as ATL Marathon, ATL Tinkerpreneur, ATL 
Space Challenge, and ATL Community Day.
Celebrate
AIM recognizes and encourages all students, teachers, and mentors for their efforts and good work 
through multiple platforms and initiatives such as Wall of Fame, Exemplary Teachers of Change, ATLs 
of the Month, Student Innovator Programme, Student Entrepreneurship Programme (SEP).
92
Annual Report 2021–22
Atal Innovation Mission 
Mentor India 
Robust partnerships forged with different stakeholders are crucial to the ATL initiative. Sustainable 
institutional frameworks that draw upon the capacity, resources, technical know-how of different 
partners are key to ensuring the success of the programme. Moreover, since tinkering as a 
concept is still new in our country, to advance the idea requires continuous handholding by 
mentors from the corporate world, academia, higher education institutes, the Government and 
so on. Given that ATL is non-prescriptive by nature, mentors are expected to be enablers rather 
than instructors. Technical know-how, innovation and design, business and entrepreneurship are 
some of the areas of contribution by the mentors. 
In 2021–22, AIM engaged with 5179 mentors and 90 regional mentors of change.
The partners also help in expanding the technical horizons of the students by providing internship 
opportunities and organizing other programmes. 
This year, AIM conducted the Mentor Roundtable, a flagship event to recognize top mentors, 
and published the GeM book to share and celebrate the exceptional work done by the Mentors 
of Change.
ATAL INCUBATION CENTRES
Atal Incubation Centres (AICs) aim to foster the entrepreneurial spirit while creating a supportive 
ecosystem for start-ups and entrepreneurs in India. AIM has been tasked with establishing and 
supporting world-class incubators.
Under this initiative, AIM supports 59 greenfield AICs and nine established incubation centres 
(EICs). 
Journey So Far
Nineteen subsequent tranches, with a total outlay of Rs 38.05 crore, have been processed in 
2021–22.
Impact Generated in the Startup Ecosystem
Creating World-Class Incubation Ecosystem
To make its AICs and EICs world-class incubators, AIM follows a structured approach. 
93
Atal Innovation Mission 
Annual Report 2021–22
Real-Time Monitoring
AIM continues to strengthen its data- and KPI-driven approach to evaluate the performance of its 
incubators using an online dashboard. The dashboard captures over 10 critical parameters that 
help AIM in taking corrective actions and supporting the AICs/EICs in a timely manner.
Capacity-Building
AIM conducts regular capacity-building workshops with the core teams of the AICs to support 
them with toolkits. The workshops are facilitated by industry thought leaders and experts. They 
also present a platform for ideating and collaborating on new projects. 
AIM also runs a weekly knowledge-sharing session where experts and thought leaders share their 
experiences with incubator CEOs/managers and mentors. In 2021–22, AIM conducted over 40 
sessions covering a number of topics.
Bridging the Gap
AIM has been running the Atal Tinkering Marathon for the last three years to provide the best 
student teams with an opportunity to accelerate their entrepreneurial journey. 
With the success of the Student Innovator Programme (SIP) in the last two years, AIM launched 
SIP 3.0 in 2021–22. Under SIP, the top 100 teams of ATL Marathon work with AICs for three 
months to build a working prototype.
Strategic Collaboration and Partnerships
AIM has partnered with Marico Innovation Foundation to support its startups via mentorship and 
scale-up. AIM has also collaborated with MathWorks for no-cost licences of Matlab/SIMULINK 
to support the scale-up of startups’ products from conceptualization to the production stage. 
AIM has partnered with GivFunds Social Ventures, an impact investment organization supporting 
small to medium-sized social enterprises in India, to gain access to growth or working capital 
in the form of low-cost debt funding. AIM, Amazon and UIncept have also joined hands to 
support the pre and post minimum viable product stage ed-tech startups with the best resources, 
expertise, and funding. 
Success stories created so far
94
Annual Report 2021–22
Atal Innovation Mission