Focus: GS II- Polity and Governance (Government Policies and Interventions
Why in News?
Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog organised ‘National Outreach Meet’ for the second edition of the Atal New India Challenge (ANIC) at International Centre Goa, hosted by AIC-GIM Foundation.
About Atal New India Challenge:
- Atal New India Challenge is a flagship program of Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog.
- The program aims to seek, select, support and nurture technology-based innovations that solve sectoral challenges of national importance and societal relevance.
- One of the primary goals of the ANIC program is to support innovations in areas critical to India’s development and growth – Education, Health, Water and Sanitation, Agriculture, Food Processing, Housing, Energy, Mobility, Space Application etc.
- The Atal New India Challenge aims to address the Commercialization Valley of Death – supporting innovators scale over the risks associated with access to resources for testing, piloting and market creation.
- ANIC solicits innovations from start-ups and MSMEs in the prototype stage and after a competitive process of selection supports them through to the commercialization stage over a course of 12 – 18 months with a funding of up to INR 1 crore along with other associated support from the AIM’s innovation ecosystem.
- The sectors in which ANIC 2.0 launched the challenges include E-mobility, Road Transportation, Space Technology and Application, Sanitation, Medical Devices and Equipment, Waste Management and Agriculture.
About Atal Innovation Mission
AIM is Government of India’s flagship initiative to promote a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship in the country.
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.