ARIIA-2020 ANNOUNCED

Focus: GS-II Social Justice

Why in news?

The Vice-President of India virtually announced Atal Ranking of Institutions on Innovation Achievements (ARIIA) 2020.

Highlights

• The Vice President called upon researchers and scientists to pay greater attention to agriculture and come up with innovations to address the problems faced by farmers stressing on the need for preventing farmers’ exploitation by middlemen and ensuring remunerative prices for their produce.
• The Vice President also emphasised the need for India’s higher education system to play the role of an enabler and force-multiplier to drive Indian innovation and start-up ecosystem.
• IIT Madras bagged the top position under the category of Institutes of National Importance, Central Universities, and Centrally Funded Technical Institutes.

Atal Ranking of Institutions on Innovation Achievements (ARIIA)

• ARIIA is an initiative of Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), Government of India.
• It aims to systematically rank all major higher educational institutions and universities in India on indicators related to “Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development” amongst students and faculties.

Objectives

• To inspire Indian institutions to reorient their mind-set and build ecosystems to encourage high quality research, innovation and entrepreneurship.
• To focus on the quality (more than quantity) of innovations and will try to measure the real impact created by these innovations nationally and internationally.
• To set tone and direction for institutions for future development for making them globally competitive and in the forefront of innovation.

Parameters considered

1. Budget & Funding Support.
2. Infrastructure & Facilities.
3. Awareness, Promotions & support for Idea Generation & Innovation.
4. Promotion & Support for Entrepreneurship Development.
5. Innovative Learning Methods & Courses.
6. Intellectual Property Generation, Technology Transfer & Commercialization.
7. Innovation in Governance of the Institution.

Institutes of National Importance

• Institute of National Importance (INI) is a status that may be conferred on a premier public higher education institution in India by an act of Parliament of India, an institution which “serves as a pivotal player in developing highly skilled personnel within the specified region of the country/state”.
• Institutes of National Importance receive special recognition and funding from the Government of India.
• As of 2020, there are 155 institutes, declared as Institutes of National Importance under a distinct Act of Parliament. The Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) form a major group in this list.

National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF)

• The National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) was launched by the Minister of Human Resource Development in 2015.
• This framework outlines a methodology to rank institutions across the country.

The parameters considered:

1. Teaching, Learning and Resources,
2. Research and Professional Practices,
3. Graduation Outcomes,
4. Outreach and Inclusivity and
5. Perception.